From Me To You
by thewoodenchair
Summary: No one expected East High's golden couple to break up after graduation. But twenty years later, Troy and Gabriella are reunited. Will they finally get their happily ever after? And will history repeat itself with their kids? A Troyella story.
1. I Feel Fine

Disclaimer: Not mine

**Disclaimer**: Not mine. Never was, and never will be. Excuse me while I go and sob into my pillow.

**A/N**: What if Troy and Gabriella broke up after their graduation? Would fate still bring them back together? And, twenty years since they first fell in love, would history repeat itself with their children? This is what this story explores. Each chapter is named after a Beatles song, because I love them and I think their songs are completely universal, regardless of race, gender, age, even time. I hope you like it, and please tell me what you think! All comments are appreciated. 

**NB**: _bebita_ is Spanish for _my little baby girl_.

Now on to…

**Chapter One**

_I Feel Fine_

She could feel the cool leather of her wallet, the rutted cylinder of her lipstick. She even discovered a broken pen, the end half-chewed, when the tip stabbed her in her palm. But try as she might, Gabriella could not find her keys. She groaned, shaking her bag in frustration. She could hear a jingle. They were definitely in there. Shoving the DVD precariously underneath her arm, she attempted the search once more. This time she was successful, and as she brought the keys up to the light, she smiled triumphantly. 

As she opened up the door, she could hear the sound of Anabela's voice, drifting down the hallway. 

'So, that's one number eighteen, two number twenties, and one number thirty-five. Yeah, that'd be lovely, George. Oh, you know we love you. Okay.' Anabela turned around at the sound of Gabriella entering the room, the phone still clutched at her ear. Gabriella held up the DVD proudly, and Anabela grinned. 'Thanks George! See you later.'

'Chatting up George now, are you?' Gabriella teased, giving Anabela a quick peck on the cheek as she made her way to the kitchen sink, pouring herself a glass of water.

'Hey, I got us a free serve of rice. I don't think you should be complaining.' Anabela held out her hand expectantly. 'So, now that the ritual Thai food has been ordered, what did you get us to watch?'

Gabriella laughed. 'Before you say anything, Ryan almost died when I told him you had never seen this movie. He made me promise I would borrow it for our next Friday night extravaganza. Okay? So no punishment for me.'

Anabela just laughed. '_My Fair Lady_? Hey, I'm not complaining. Better than when he suggested _Dirty Dancing_.'

'Be careful what you say about that film – Ryan would ignore all the love he has in his heart for you if you ever told him that face to face!'

Anabela shrugged. 'I think that boy needs to find another guy to drool over. I just don't get what the Patrick Swayze attraction.'

Gabriella sighed. 'Trust me, I've been trying to, you know, push him along that path. God knows there are enough gorgeous men in his occupation. But he just changes the subject whenever I bring it up. Back on to me, and _my_ love life.'

Anabela giggled. 'What's there to talk about?'

Gabriella glared at her. 'Hey, that's not nice.'

'It's the truth. You haven't been out for a really long time. Just because the last guy you went out with was a disaster…'

'He was more than a disaster. The entire date was a catastrophe. He spilled noodles all over my silk shirt and didn't even apologise! And he ate with his mouth open.'

Anabela sighed. 'So, there was one bad guy. Not all guys out there are horrible pricks. You should get out there and find someone new. You're gorgeous, and still young!'

'I'm almost 38.'

'Oh, come on. You'll be 38 in six months. Until then, you're a hot, sexy 37-year-old, who I just know could get any man she wanted to!'

Gabriella blushed. 'This is not a pep talk I want to be having with you. And besides, I am quite fine with being single for now. Why don't we follow Ryan's example, and shift the focus to you? How's your love life going?'

Anabela shrugged, playing with the corners of the dishcloth, a small smile tugging the sides of her mouth up. 'Ethan's great. He brought me a rose today, for no reason other than he felt like it. He's just so lovely. Unlike any other guy I know. I mean, Luke's lovely and very sweet, but...'

'He's no Ethan?' Gabriella finished.

'Exactly. And besides, he's completely smitten with Rebekkah.' Anabela smiled. 'But even if he was available, the only man I want is Ethan!'

'You sound like a love-struck teenager, _bebita_.'

'Perhaps because I am a love-struck teenager, Mom?'

Gabriella only laughed at the look on her daughter's face. 'How about we get this DVD ready, huh? The food will be here in a minute.' 

_fmty_

'We're here!' Troy yelled, his voice hardly louder than the noise bursting from the other end of the house, a combination of football commentary, men's laughter, children's screams, and women gossiping.

Charlie pushed through the door next to him, an impatient look on his face. 'Come on, I think we've already missed the first few minutes.'

'I wasn't the one taking forever in the shower!'

'I wasn't the one that insisted that we had time "for just one more game"!' 

Troy frowned, throwing his keys in the big bowl of keys, broken pens, paperclips and empty lolly wrappers by the front door. 'Okay, you win this round. But don't act like you didn't want to play!'

Charlie just rolled his eyes. 

The two stuck their heads through the kitchen door, where Taylor and Rachel were sitting, laughing uproariously at something. 

'Oh, hey, Troy, Charlie,' Taylor said, wiping her eyes and giving the two a huge grin. 'I think the game's only just started. They're waiting for you.'

'Thanks, Tay!' Troy and Charlie said in unison, elbowing each other as they made their way down the hall to the lounge, where six heads were already seated around a giant plasma screen, where the kickoff was just taking place.

A chorus of, 'Hey, guys', was heard, although all faces were turned to the screen in excited expectation.

'I hate being late,' Charlie grumbled as he took a place on the floor. 'No couch space is ever left.'

'I'd like to prove you wrong!' Troy announced, as he collapsed in the middle of the couch, half-sitting on Chad's knee and accidentally placing his elbow in Zeke's neck. Chad's youngest, the eight-year-old Jesse, realised something had to give and, with a world-weary sigh that made Charlie and Jake share a grin, slumped off the couch to the ground. Jake pulled his brother beside him, ruffling his hair. The three adults shifted themselves so they were placed more comfortably, Chad wordlessly handing Troy a beer as he did so, and resumed watching the game, yelling out insults and excited cheers at particular times. 

As the half-time whistle blew, the guys picked themselves up, and made their way into the kitchen, where Taylor and Rachel were now surrounded by enormous plates of food. 

'You're brilliant, you know that?' Chad told his wife, giving her a kiss. Jordan, the middle Danforth, groaned and mimed being sick. 

'Keep telling me that, gorgeous,' Taylor said, watching in amusement as, at the hands of eight hungry males, the food literally disappeared before her eyes. There were murmurs of thanks and noises of pleasure as the salad, potatoes and chicken skewers were devoured, all the while talking about the game and who was expected to win. Within minutes the food had disappeared, and Zeke brought out a number of large containers filled with sweets from his pastry shop. The entire group, including the two women, tramped back into the lounge, now full and ready for the next half.

The team they had been cheering for ended up losing, much to the group's disappointment, and Chad muted the TV in disgust. 

'I can't talk about football anymore. It's too depressing.' 

Troy groaned and stretched his arms out over the back of the chair. 'I think I know what time it is now, then.'

Chad grinned. 'Why, yes, I think this time does call for a little bit of Bolton grilling. Tell us all that has been going on in the Boltons' lives this past week.'

'Chad, we see you almost every day. We live two houses apart, for God's sake.'

Chad ignored Troy. 'I'll start with the little Bolton.' Charlie, who had been laughing with Jake, the eldest Danforth, groaned at this. 

'Oh, leave me alone, Chad.'

But Chad was having none of it. 'Charlie, you've been working pretty much all summer. We hardly ever see you!'

'Chad, I work at Zeke's pastry shop. You come in there every day to buy dessert. I see you all the time. Honestly, you can ask me questions all night, but there is really nothing to know!'

'I'd like to contradict you there, Mr Bolton. What is this I hear about a certain cheerleader coming to the pastry shop every day?'

Charlie groaned as the group laughed and made kissing noises. 

'Is she hot?' Jordan asked unashamedly. 

Taylor glared at her son but smiled at Charlie. 'What's she like?'

Charlie looked heaven-wards. 'God, guys. Her name's Danielle, okay?'

'You mean Danielle Roberts?' Connor asked. When Charlie nodded, both Connor and Jake made faces, while their parents looked at each other, confused.

'This is a bad thing?' Rachel confirmed.

Connor looked at his mom. 'That is the worst thing.'

'She's the head cheerleader. The _evil_ head cheerleader. She's had her eye on Bolton here for a good couple of months, at least,' Jake explained. 

Charlie shrugged. 'I maintain that she's just coming into the shop for dessert.'

'Yeah right, dude. Only if that dessert comes with you attached.' Jake and Connor laughed, giving each other a high five. 

'I don't like her. She's only concerned with trivial things. Her nails. Her shoes. Her clothes. She treats her friends like dirt and has attempted to sleep with every guy in the year. This is one girl I will never willingly get involved with.'

Troy smiled sympathetically at his son. An image flashed across his eyes, of one very dramatic blonde sashaying across a stage, grinning widely at him as he gripped his microphone awkwardly; they had been practising for some talent show at her country club. Troy shook his head and smiled, very happy that his high school years were over. 

'Okay, I think that's enough grilling of my son for now. We'd better get going, anyway. Basketball practise tomorrow morning and all.'

Charlie threw Troy and grateful smile, but Chad pulled Troy back down when he attempted to stand up. 'Not so fast, Bolton. What about you? How's your love life right now?'

Troy shrugged. 'I'm going to repeat what Charlie said earlier: there's nothing to know.'

Zeke sighed. 'Come on, Troy, you have to get out there! You're still young, and in good shape.'

'Zeke, I'm 38. And besides, I really don't feel up to a relationship right now.'

Chad rolled his eyes. 'You just don't _think_ you're ready for a relationship. Trust me, you are. Why doesn't Taylor set you up with one of her friends?'

Taylor shook her head. 'The last time I tried to do that, honey, Troy ran out of the restaurant after barely ten minutes.'

Troy shook his head. 'It was a disaster. She kept going on about her ex, and then started to bawl her eyes out when I tried to change the subject.'

Chad was determined. 'Taylor can try harder to find someone you'd like.' 

Taylor scoffed, but Troy was already shaking his head. 'Really, guys, I'm fine. Both Charlie and I are fine. We don't need you guys to set either of us up. We can manage things just fine.'

'Doesn't sound like you're fine to me. People who are fine don't repeat that they are fine three times in the space of a minute, Troy-boy,' Chad teased.

Troy rolled his eyes. 'Okay, Charlie, we're leaving. Thanks for the lovely dinner, Tay, and we'll see you guys over the weekend, yeah?'

Before he left, Troy made sure he hit Chad upside the head.

'Oi, what was that for?'

Taylor laughed. 'Oh, honey.'

**Up next**:

'I'm coming, Mama.'

'Here, to Albuquerque?' 

'Yes.' Suddenly Gabriella's mind was absolutely clear. 'Anabela and I will pack up tonight and we'll be most definitely there, in Albuquerque, by Tuesday. I need to be with you, Mama, I can't leave you alone.'


	2. We Can Work It Out

**A/N**: Quite an angsty chapter, this one. Things for the Montez girls aren't looking quite so sunny. Things will get better, though! Please please please review. I'm still not sure if this is worth continuing, and I'll only keep it up if you guys want me to. So tell me what you think…

-

**NB**: _nina_ is Spanish for _little girl_.

**-**

**Previously**:

On Friday night, in Boston, Anabela groaned. 'Oh, come on. You'll be 38 in six months. Until then, you're a hot, sexy 37-year-old, who I just know could get any man she wanted to!'

Gabriella blushed. 'This is not a pep talk I want to be having with my daughter.'

On the same Friday night, in Albuquerque, Zeke sighed. 'Come on, Troy, you have to get out there! You're still young, and in good shape.'

'Zeke, I'm 38. And besides, I really don't feel up to a relationship right now.'

Chad rolled his eyes. 'You just don't _think_ you're ready for a relationship. Trust me, you are.'

-

Now, on to…

**Chapter Two**

_We Can Work It Out_

-

Gabriella hurried through the door, the plastic bags of shopping digging into her fingers, turning them purple. She closed the front door skilfully with her foot and raced to the kitchen counter, dropping the five bags of shopping down on the marble and massaging her fingers, wincing. Every time she went to the supermarket she convinced herself that she would never do it again without Anabela, or at least without someone else to help her lug the bags up the building's stairs, but this promise always went unfulfilled. She hadn't realised that she had needed to go shopping today until Anabela had already left to see a movie with Ethan, and Gabriella looked in the fridge, wondering what she could make for dinner. Which had left her in this position, barely able to move her fingers from lack of circulation.

The phone rang, and Gabriella smiled. It was Saturday afternoon, a bit after four, and that meant Ryan would be calling. Ever since he had moved away after high school, they had made a ritual of it, him explaining all the facets of his new bohemian lifestyle as he tried to launch his acting career, she the tiny details of Harvard University, where she was studying to become a doctor. Even now, with Ryan in New York, directing Broadway hits, and her in Boston, working as a paediatrician in a small centre in the city, they still managed to catch up at least once a week to chat.

However, when she saw the caller ID, she was surprised.

'Mom! I wasn't expecting a call from you!' she said happily, rifling through the plastic bags for the apples.

'Well, this was important, _nina_.' Her mother's use of her childhood nickname made her pause. Carmen did not sound like she usually did. Gabriella could hear her take a large breath, and she began to feel slightly sick.

'What's wrong, Mom?'

Her mother sighed. 'Are you sitting down, Gabriella?'

Gabriella's heart began to race. 'No, I'm not, Mom, but – what's wrong?'

'Please sit down, Gabriella…'

Gabriella groaned. 'Okay, Mom, I'm sitting down. Now please tell me what's wrong. You're scaring me.'

'I'm sorry, _nina_. I don't mean to. I just was calling to tell you that today I went to the doctor.'

Gabriella's hand flew involuntarily to her mouth. 'Oh, God, Mom. What's wrong?'

'Well, we thought that it was nothing. I had felt a lump in my breast, is all-' Gabriella let out a strange noise, half between a gasp and a sob, and struggled for coherent thoughts. 'Anyway, they did some tests and it looks like I do have a tumour.'

'A tumour?' Gabriella managed to get out.

'Yes, a cancerous growth. They think it's malignant-' Gabriella's hand shook as she made to cover her eyes, unable to believe what she was hearing '-which means it's imperative to remove it as soon as possible. I'm having an operation on Tuesday.'

Gabriella realised she hadn't been breathing and closed her eyes, breathing deep and slow.

'_Nina_, are you alright?'

Gabriella could hear the underlying fear in her mother's usually calm and confidant voice, and it was that which sent her over the edge. She began to cry, too many questions buzzing through her mind.

'Oh, Gabriella.'

'Will you be alright, Mama?' Even at 37, Gabriella needed this reassurance. That despite this terrible situation, things would turn out okay in the end. She was still Carmen's little girl, frightened and confused.

'I don't know, _nina_, but I am going to try my hardest.' Carmen's determination made Gabriella let out a hiccup of a laugh. 'After the operation I'll be having both chemotherapy and radiotherapy. They're going to try and really get this nasty little bug out of my body.'

'I'm coming, Mama.'

'Here, to Albuquerque?'

'Yes.' Suddenly Gabriella's mind was absolutely clear. 'Anabela and I will pack up tonight and we'll be most definitely there, in Albuquerque, by Tuesday. I need to be with you, Mom, I can't leave you alone.'

'But Gabriella, you can't just drop everything. You have your job, your daughter, to think about…' Carmen sounded uncertain.

'Mom, you have cancer. I need to be with you. Anabela won't mind. I can leave my job, leave this apartment, leave everything behind. It doesn't matter, Mom, what matters is you, and us taking care of you. We are moving to stay with you. We need to be there. It's where our proper place is. Okay?'

Carmen sighed. 'Oh, _nina_. I am so sorry.'

'Mama, don't even think about it.' Gabriella's head was spinning again. 'Is there someone you can call to stay with you until we get there?'

'Yes. Of course.'

'Okay. I'll call you later tonight and tell you what time our flight will get in. I'm going to get there as soon as possible, okay, Mom? Just hold on.'

'Gabriella?'

'Yes, Mama?'

'I love you.'

Gabriella's voice was strong as she replied, 'I love you too.' She heard the click of the phone being disconnected, and, just like that, her body collapsed. She sank down the wall, the phone clutched loosely in her hand, her body racking with gigantic sobs. The enormity of the situation finally hit her, and she couldn't stop the wave of grief as it washed over her, leaving her aching with despair in its wake.

And then the phone rang once more. Ryan's number was flashing on the screen. Gabriella clicked the talk button, and held it to her ear.

'Gabriella? Gabriella, are you there?' His voice was loud and clear.

'Ryan?' she managed, her voice cracking. She began to cry again, her body shaking.

'Oh, God, Gabriella, what's wrong? Are you okay? Are you hurt? What's the matter?' He sounded panicked.

'Ryan…' She made a conscious effort to calm herself. 'It's my mom.'

'Yes? Oh, sweetie, you have to tell me what's wrong.'

'She…she has breast cancer, Ryan. It's malignant. She's having an operation on Tuesday, and she has to get chemo and radiotherapy done and I only just found out. Oh God, she could die, Ryan, and I'm just so scared and Anabela isn't here and I feel so alone and I have to move back there and I've just got so much that I have to do!' She dissolved into tears again.

Ryan hushed her, making soothing noises until she relaxed, hiccuping and tears still falling down her face. 'Sweetie? Are you okay?'

Gabriella shrugged. 'I don't think so. It's just, my mom…'

'I know, Gab. But she's getting an operation, and treatment. She'll be fine. I know it. The doctors know what they're doing. Okay? Let's just focus on you for a bit. Anabela isn't there, but I am. And I'm not going anywhere. Now, what were you saying about moving back there?'

Gabriella hiccuped. 'Anabela and I are going to move back into the old house, with Mom, while she's having treatment. I need to book a flight there.' She held her head in her hands. 'Oh, God, there's so much I need to do! I need to make a list.'

Ryan gave a mirthless laugh. 'Gabriella Montez, forever organised. Okay. I'm writing a list right now. First off is getting a flight back to New Mexico. What other things are you worried about?'

'Well, obviously we're going to have to lease the apartment or something…I think we're going to stay there, Ryan, I just can't see us coming back any time soon, with Mom so sick…'

'Okay, so the apartment needs tending to. If you're going to be staying, we'll need to confirm that with your job. And with Anabela's school. Okay? And we'll need to enrol her at a school in Albuquerque as well, so she doesn't miss out on anything.'

'Ryan, hold up here a second.' Gabriella had finally stopped crying. 'You're using a the word "we".'

'What, you didn't think I was making you do all this yourself, did you? I'll be on the first flight over there. I'm packing now as we speak.'

Gabriella felt a rush of gladness spread through her. Ryan was so lovely. 'Ry, thank you.'

She could feel his smile through the phone. 'Don't even mention it, sweetie. What else are you thinking you need to do?

She shook her head. 'I don't even know. There just seems to be so much going in my head I can't even think straight…'

Ryan sighed. 'Well, I'll be there by nine tonight. And I'll have your plane tickets ready for you when I get there. Don't worry your pretty little head about that.'

'Oh, Ryan, thank you. Thank you so much.'

'Anything else?'

Gabriella sighed. 'I have to go back to _Albuquerque_. I haven't been there since I was eighteen.'

Ryan gave a dry laugh. 'I have. It's not all that it's cracked up to be, sweetie.'

Gabriella nodded. 'No, I know, it's just…the memories, you know.'

'Yeah, I know, Gab. But that was all twenty years ago. And a lot of things have happened since then. I doubt that he's even there anymore. I doubt any of them are. Albuquerque always seemed much too small for all our high school friends.'

Gabriella agreed with him, but even so, as she began to think about moving back, her throat constricted with unresolved fear and tension. She was about to mention something else, but her thoughts cut off when she heard the front door open.

'Mom? Are you in here?' she heard Anabela yell.

'In here!' she managed to call back, her voice still fragile. 'Ryan, that's Anabela. I better go.'

'Okay, sweetie. Just hang on in there until I get there, okay? I'll be there at nine, I promise.'

'Thank you, Ryan. Love you.'

'Love you too, Gabriella.'

'What are you doing on the floor?' Anabela asked, but when Gabriella lifted her head to look at her, Anabela let out a little gasp, trying to understand her mother's tear streaked face and red-rimmed eyes. 'Oh, God, Mom, what's wrong?'

Gabriella held out her hand, and Anabela took it, sinking down to sit next to her, her face full of worry.

'It's your grandmother, _bebita_. She's very sick.'

'How sick?'

'She has breast cancer.'

Anabela gasped. 'No.'

Gabriella nodded, trying to remain calm and strong. 'Yes, honey. It's malignant, and she's having an operation on Monday. They're going to have to treat her with radiotherapy and chemotherapy as well.'

'Will she lose her hair?' Anabela shook her head in self-disgust. 'Oh, God, that was terrible of me. Thinking about hair at a time like this…just…will she be okay?'

Gabriella decided to tell her the truth. 'I don't know, _bebita_. It's a common disease, and they're doing all they can to stop it…I really do hope so.'

Anabela gave her mother a hug, burying her face into Gabriella's soft hair.

Gabriella pulled away, looking into her daughter's eyes. 'We're going to have to move, Anabela. I need to be with her, and I know that you have your entire life based here, but this is just so important…'

'We're moving? To Albuquerque?' Anabela asked, bewildered.

'Yes. To live with your grandmother.'

'For how long?'

'Until she's better.'

'And how long will that be? A week? A month? A year?'

Gabriella shrugged. 'I'm not sure, Anabela. But I'm going to lease the apartment and put our furniture into storage…we'll be there for more than a couple of months.'

Anabela pulled out of her grasp. 'No. We can't. My life is here, Mom. Ethan's here, my friends are here, my school is here…'

'It's the start of a new school year, it's not like you're moving during the middle of a school semester. There'll be new people. We'll be back here in a little while, I promise.'

'A little while is not a few months, Mom. A little while is a couple of weeks at the most. I don't want to move. I want to stay here!'

'Anabela, your grandmother is sick! I can't stay in Boston while she is so sick in New Mexico! I just can't!'

'Then leave me here!'

'Anabela, no. You have to come with me. And not just because I can't leave a sixteen-year-old in an apartment all alone.'

Anabela scowled. 'I'm almost seventeen, Mom.'

'Child services would be after me if I left you here alone, Anabela. And I don't want to leave you alone. I want to be with you, make sure you're okay.'

'Well, I don't want to move to Albuquerque!'

Gabriella put a hand to her eyes. 'Anabela, I can't argue with you about this. It's already been decided.'

'But…Ethan! What's going to happen to us, Mom?'

Gabriella couldn't help it. The tears started to fall again. She could remember so clearly her own mother forcing her to move, always just as she had formed new friends, found a guy she liked, found teachers she was inspired by. 'Anabela, I did not want to do this. You know about my childhood – I wouldn't ever want you to go through the same ordeal. But I can't leave you here either. I need you. I need you to be there beside me, holding my hand, making sure that together we get through this thing together, okay? I don't want to hurt you and I don't want to make you angry, I'm just…'

She buried her face in her hands, unable to control the tears. And then, after a few seconds, she could feel a pair of familiar arms encircle her once more, stroking her hair and murmuring words of comfort into her ear. Gabriella hung on to her daughter, crying into her hair.

'I'm so sorry. So, so sorry, Anabela,' she said, trying to stop crying. She sighed. 'I'm just so scared,' she whispered. Her daughter's hug tightened, and Gabriella felt her own hair begin to clump with wet tears.

'I'm here, Mama,' Anabela murmured. 'We can work it out. Together. In Albuquerque.'

-

**Up next**:

'I wonder what all the other Wildcats are doing right now,' Gabriella mused.

Ryan shrugged. 'Off living their lives in the big wide world.' He looked at her, and gently kissed the top of her head. 'Don't worry about going back there, Gabriella.' She smiled, loving how he knew exactly what she was thinking. 'It was twenty years ago, that entire deal with you and Troy and everything that came with it. It's in the past now. Nothing you can do about it. You can just go there, look after your mom, and just let whatever happens happen. Okay?'


	3. Hold Me Tight

A/N: Still a couple more chapters to go until the Montez girls get to Albuquerque

**A/N**: Still a couple more chapters to go until the Montez girls get to Albuquerque. Until then, we've got a bit of bonding between fathers, sons, friends, and lovers. Hope you enjoy, and please please please press that little button and review, even if it's just to say, 'great', 'crap', or 'get them to Albuquerque already!'. Please? I will honestly love you forever and ever and ever and ever! Reviews make me happy, and they keep me writing. Thank you especially to _xorss_, whose review made me smile. 

**Previously**:

'I'm coming, Mama.'

'Here, to Albuquerque?' 

'Yes.' Suddenly Gabriella's mind was absolutely clear. 'Anabela and I will pack up tonight and we'll be most definitely there, in Albuquerque, by Tuesday. I need to be with you, Mama, I can't leave you alone.'

Now on to…

**Chapter Three**

_Hold Me Tight_

Charlie lined up for the shot, and despite his father trying to swipe it from him, scored a perfect goal. He took a bow, and Troy laughed at him. 

'Let's take a break, Chaz. We've been playing for over an hour now.'

Charlie grinned. 'What, are you tired? Are you getting old, Dad?'

Troy glared at his son. 'Don't joke about that sort of thing, kiddo, otherwise that cheerleader who's so smitten with you will be hearing some very embarrassing Charlie-as-a-baby stories…'

Charlie followed his father into their cool house, squinting as his eyes adjusted to the dim interior. 'I wouldn't care, Dad. Maybe it'd make her go off of me. Could be a novel idea, actually…'

Troy handed him a bottle of water, and Charlie hoisted himself up to sit on the kitchen bench, swinging his legs. 'I honestly don't want to go back to school next week. The thought of seeing her every day…'

Troy laughed. 'I thought she was going to Zeke's pastry shop every day anyway?'

Charlie shrugged. 'Well, she was, but she complained the other day about putting on weight because she was eating so much. I haven't seen her for at least two days now. But at school there's no excuse, and she'll be surrounded by her minions, constantly giggling and talking about who is cuter, Peter Thornton or Lance Williamson…'

Troy laughed. 'Some things never change. Back in my day it was all about who was cuter, Johnny Depp or Orlando Bloom.'

Charlie made a face. 'Those old guys?'

'They were young and good looking once,' Troy said, 'just like me.'

Charlie laughed so hard he choked on his water. Troy huffed at his son's teasing, but thumped him on the back anyway. Charlie looked up at him, his blue eyes sparkling. 

'Dad, that's just too easy.'

Troy raised his eyebrows. 'Hey, don't laugh! The girls that chased me during school…you wouldn't believe it. There was one girl who would not get the point that I just did not want to be with her; she even sabotaged one of my relationships in order to get us together.' 

Charlie chuckled. 'Good Lord. What happened?'

Troy frowned. 'I can't exactly remember how it was all resolved, but eventually the girl backed down and Gabriella and I got to get back to the way we were.'

'Ooh, Dad. I've heard about this Gabriella before, I think.' Charlie batted his eyelashes. 'Were you in _love_?'

Troy smiled. 'It was a long time ago, kiddo, and we were both very young. I thought I was in love with her. It seemed so real when we were together.' Troy's face became difficult to read, and Charlie hesitated, wondering what could be said. 'Let's just say it was difficult when she moved away.' 

Charlie knew that his father wasn't telling him everything, but shrugged it off. Things with him and his dad came out eventually; they didn't hide things from each other. They had been through so much together that it was just a given that they'd tell each other whatever had been going on in their lives. Charlie knew it was girly, but he cherished the relationship he had with his dad. Troy always told him the truth, always treated him as an adult, and always considered his opinion, no matter how ridiculous. It was a bond Charlie knew many kids didn't share with their parents, and instead of feeling like a freak about it, Charlie understood it was the most important thing he had. He'd been through enough to realise that much. 

'Well, Mom sure thought you were a catch.'

Troy smiled sadly. 'The feeling was mutual. I still can't believe how lucky I was to get her.'

Charlie drank the last of his water and jumped down from the bench. 'How about another round, you old geezer?'

Troy snatched the basketball from the table, grinning evilly. 'Oh, you're in for it now, kiddo.' 

_fmty_

The furniture had been moved out, their kitchen utensils, books and other things put in storage, and Gabriella and Ryan had moved on to her bedroom.

Ryan spread himself out on the bed, closing his eyes and sighing wearily. 'Oh, what work moving is.'

Gabriella smiled. 'Don't I know it.'

Ryan looked over at her, where she was carefully folding her clothes, placing them in a large suitcase at the end of her bed. 'I don't get how you even kept anything back then. I would've just let go of everything. So much for Mom loving all my grade one artwork, forever to be hung on the fridge. I would've become Buddhist. You know, become unattached to all material things.'

Gabriella laughed. 'Hey, I still had artwork on my fridge. It just got thrown away when we moved.' She played with a fraying hem of a pink shirt, biting her lip. 'But I had to unlearn all of that in Albuquerque. Mom promised me that would be the last time we'd move, and sure enough, it was. _I_ was the only one to move after that.' She smiled sadly at Ryan.

'I can still remember your first day. Getting in trouble with Darbus almost the minute you had gotten into class…'

Gabriella groaned. 'Oh, God, don't remind me. I had never been in detention before then, and to get busted the very first day of East High…I was depressed. And very much hated Darbus for breaking my perfect schooling record.'

Ryan grinned. 'I liked her.'

'Only because she loved you.' 

'Hey, she loved Sharpay way more than she ever loved me.'

'She was probably scared of Sharpay, just like the rest of us.'

Ryan grinned. 'She was a force to be reckoned with back then. Thank God she's calmed down now. Did I tell you about her agent insisting she get anger management classes?'

Gabriella couldn't help but laugh. 'That sounds like a good idea. Sharpay was always a bit too…high strung?'

Ryan just laughed. 'You're too nice, Gab.'

Gabriella blushed. 'What is going on with Sharpay anyway? Will I be seeing her in any big movies soon?'

Ryan shrugged. 'She's hoping so. She's so determined I'm sure she'll make it. Unlike Mr Ryan Evans, however, which she never hesitates to remind me.'

Gabriella frowned at him. 'Hey, Ry, don't talk like that. You had determination for something else. And now you're a ridiculously talented, ridiculously successful, ridiculously wealthy, theatre director. It was your show that became the biggest thing Broadway's seen since _The Lion King_, remember, and don't you forget it.'

Ryan smiled. 'Nah, Gab, I know that. I much preferred directing to acting, anyway. I learnt that when I directed that Talent Show.'

Gabriella gave up folding and lay down on the bed beside him. 'I never had any idea of what I wanted to do. I liked Science, and Maths…'

'You little Einsteinette, you,' Ryan said, pulling her close. Gabriella smiled; she always felt so loved and safe with Ryan by her side. Ever since she had left high school, he had always been there when she needed it. And she had been there for him, whenever he had been dealing with problems, like finally coming out to his family. 

'I wonder what all the other Wildcats are doing right now,' Gabriella mused. 

Ryan shrugged. 'Off living their lives in the big wide world.' He looked at her, and gently kissed the top of her head. 'Don't worry about going back there, Gabriella.' She smiled, loving how he knew exactly what she was thinking. 'It was twenty years ago, that entire deal with you and Troy and everything that came with it. It's in the past now. Nothing you can do about it. You can just go there, look after your mom, and just let whatever happens happen. Okay?'

Gabriella nodded, closing her eyes and listening to Ryan's breathing. 'Thanks, Ryan.'

He chuckles softly. 'And if you do need anything, you know I'm just a phone call away.'

She opened her eyes to smile at him. 'Just like always,' she said, smiling.

_fmty_

There was a soft knock on the wooden door, and Anabela looked up from the suitcase she was packing, surrounded by half-opened cardboard boxes full of photos albums and books she wouldn't be needing in Albuquerque. Ethan's face smiled down at her as the door slowly slid shut.

'Hey, beautiful,' he said, slowly making his way through the boxes, most stacked perilously on top of each other. 

'What're you doing here?' she asked, smiling, as he stood above her. 'I saw you at the farewell party just two hours ago!'

Her friends had thrown her a goodbye party at Amy's house, complete with embarrassing videos of stupid things Anabela had done and said at school and during their time together, on holidays and on weekends. They had smothered her in hugs and kisses when it was time for her to leave, and she hadn't let herself believe that Ethan would come by to say a personal goodbye.

'I wasn't able to say a proper goodbye then,' he replied, smiling at her cheekily. 'And I didn't give you your present yet.'

Anabela scrambled up, grinning broadly. 'Well, then, Mr Harrison, I guess now is the time.'

He grinned, and pulled her close, kissing her deeply and making every nerve in her body tingle with pleasure. When they finally pulled away, Anabela buried her face in his neck, inhaling his scent and feeling a pang in her stomach, desperate not to leave this gorgeous guy.

She pulled away and smiled up at his face, his dark eyes twinkling. 'Hey.'

'Hey. How're you feeling?'

Anabela shrugged. 'Tired. Sick of packing. But very happy to see you.' 

Ethan chuckled, letting his hands rest on her hips as they shared another kiss.

'I'm going to miss you, Anabela,' he said, almost wistfully, looking into her eyes. She felt the usual shiver run up her spine as he gazed at her in that intense way of his, and she smiled.

'I'm going to miss you too, Ethan. But I'm going to be back before you know it. I wouldn't want to spend my senior year anywhere else but here, with you.' He kissed her again and Anabela melted into his embrace, knowing that this was the last time she would see him again for what could be months.

Ethan was the first to break away, and he slumped himself down on the floor ungracefully, pulling Anabela into his lap as she continued to fold the last of her clothes. His breath was warm on the back of her neck, and as he started to nibble on her earlobe, all thoughts of packing were discarded as Anabela turned to move his lips back on hers. 

'I don't want to leave,' she murmured against his lips. 'I wish I could just stay here forever.'

Ethan kissed her nose affectionately. 'The feeling's mutual.' He held up a square box wrapped in red paper. 'Want your present?'

Anabela grinned and nodded happily. 'Yes!'

He presented it to her with another quick kiss, and Anabela unwrapped the paper hurriedly, opening the box with careful fingers. Inside was a silver frame with a black and white photo of her and Ethan, looking deeply into each other's eyes and smiling happily. Anabela felt herself tear up.

'Oh, Ethan, it's beautiful.' She looked up at him, and leant her head forward to capture his lips once more. The kiss became more heated, as boxes were shoved out of the way to let the two lie on the hard wooden floor, exploring and touching with a quiet desperation. Ethan had managed to remove Anabela's shirt, and his fingers were having a bit of difficulty unclasping her bra, when a noise from outside made them pull apart.

'Anabela?' Gabriella called from her room. 'I think I'll put dinner on in a few minutes! You ready for it?'

Anabela cleared her throat, and managed to reply something coherent, even though her brain felt like it had been reduced to mush from Ethan, raining small kisses down her neck and across her chest. 

She licked her swollen lips and smiled at him, finding her shirt and slipping it back over her head. 'Want to stay for dinner?' she asked.

He shook his head. 'I'm sorry, Anabela. I promised Mom and Dad I'd be home by eight.' He reached for her again when her face fell, and resumed his kiss with increased fervour, caressing her face.

'I love you,' he murmured, and Anabela drew back sharply.

'What?' 

He bit his lip. 'I love you.'

She grinned. 'Really?'

Ethan blushed. 'Do I really have to say it again?'

Anabela nodded an affirmative. Ethan rolled his eyes but complied. 'I love y- umph.' Anabela attacked his mouth again, savouring his taste and the way his tongue moved over hers. 

'I love you too,' she whispered, threading her hands in his hair, wanting the moment to last forever. 'And I'm going to miss you so so so much.'

Ethan pulled her into a hug. 'There's the phone. And either you'll come up here during break, or I'll make my way down there somehow…Don't worry, Anabela. We'll make this work.'

Anabela closed her eyes and let him kiss her again, completely certain that his words were the truth. 

**Up next**:

Anabela grinned. 'Papa's here!'

Neil stepped out from behind the adjoining wall and smiled at the two in front of him. 'Hi, Gabriella, Ryan.'

Gabriella smiled back in greeting. 'Hi, Neil. What're you doing here?'

'Come to say goodbye, of course!' Neil said, looking around the kitchen at the numerous boxes. 'And to assist with the lugging of suitcases down the stairs. Thought you might need some help. I heard the theatre director didn't have much by way of muscles.'

'Such charm, this man,' Ryan said dryly. 'Remind me again why you two ever got married?'


	4. She's Leaving Home

Chapter Four: Of Goodbyes and Grandmothers

**A/N**: I am so so so happy at the moment, because the other day I wrote fluffy little Troyella fic, _Cookie Kisses_, and not only did it get great reviews (many thanks to all those lovely people!), it also got put in four C2s! Very proud and feel quite special.

Anyway. About this story, thank you so much for all the beautiful reviews! I got so many of them for the last chapter, and I was so happy. You should have seen my face; I couldn't stop smiling. Your feedback means so much to me, so keep it up! In this chapter we're still not in Albuquerque, but I promise that next chapter there will be lots of shocking reunions and introductions in New Mexico. Anyway, there's some information behind Gabriella's past in this, and excuse the pointless Charlie/Jake brotherly drabble. Hope you enjoy!

**NB**: _Abuela_ is Spanish for _Grandmother_.

**Previously**: 

'I wonder what all the other Wildcats are doing right now,' Gabriella mused. 

Ryan shrugged. 'Off living their lives in the big wide world.' He looked at her, and gently kissed the top of her head. 'Don't worry about going back there, Gabriella.' She smiled, loving how he knew exactly what she was thinking. 'It was twenty years ago, that entire deal with you and Troy and everything that came with it. It's in the past now. Nothing you can do about it. You can just go there, look after your mom, and just let whatever happens happen. Okay?'

Now on to…

**Chapter Four**

_She's Leaving Home_

Anabela was attempting to lug her suitcase down the apartment's staircase, mentally cursing the fact that they didn't have an elevator, when she heard an amused chuckle. 

'Want any help?'

She looked up, ready to insult whoever it was who had just succeeded in making her even angrier, but when she saw who the voice belonged to, she squealed in delight and let go of her suitcase, accidentally dropping it down a couple of stairs.

'Oh, shit,' she muttered, then looked again at the tall man leaning against the wall of the entrance hall. 'Hey, you.'

He smiled widely. 'Hey back atcha.'

She launched herself off the staircase and into his arms, smiling as he tightened his grip on her and stroked the top of her head. 'I missed you, sweetie.'

She pulled away and beamed at him. 'Me too, Papa. How are you?'

He laughed. 'I seem to be faring better than you at the moment. Do you need any help with that suitcase?'

Anabela smiled happily. 'That would be great. Ryan's here, helping out, but he's just a stick, with no muscles at all. You'd think that he'd have some strength in those arms of his, what with all that high energy dancing, but he couldn't even get my suitcase off the ground.'

Neil groaned as he picked up his daughter's case. 'I'm not surprised. How could you even pick it up?'

'The secret is in the act of rolling the suitcase rather than lifting, Papa.'

'What do you have in here? Bricks?'

Anabela rolled her eyes. 'Haha, very funny. No. There're clothes in there. Shoes. Books.'

'Your mom didn't give you a limit?'

Anabela pouted. 'Yeah. I was only allowed to take ten.' She smiled slyly. 'But I was able to fit a couple more in that I knew I just couldn't live without.' She frowned at him. 'Just don't tell Mom. She'll kill me.'

Neil laughed. 'My lips are sealed.' He left the suitcase by the other four at the front door, where the doorman was keeping watch, and the two began to climb up the stairs again. 

'So, what are you doing here, Papa?' Anabela asked, running ahead a few stairs and walking up backwards so she could see his face. She didn't see him very often – he lived on the West Coast, in California, and had another family dependent on him there. Whenever she did get to see him, Anabela was content just to drink up his features, because she never knew when she would be able to see him next. This time, his hair, once a deep chestnut brown, had faded slightly and he seemed to be greying around the edges. His crow's feet were more pronounced, but his dimples, appearing easily when he smiled, were still there. They were mirrored in Anabela's own face, and she couldn't help lifting her hand up to touch them as his smile contagiously turned her own lips up at the corners.

'My little girl's leaving home. I came to see her and her mom off. Why else would I be here?'

Anabela smiled. 'Papa, you live in California. You didn't need to come all this way just to say goodbye! I mean, there's Penny and Lucy to think about. '

Neil stopped. 'That reminds me, I've got something to tell you.'

Anabela raised her eyebrows. 'Yeah?'

'Penny's pregnant. Again. She's due in February.'

Anabela smiled and moved to give him another hug. 'I'm so happy for you, Papa. And what about that, I get another little half-sibling.'

Neil grinned, holding his daughter close. 'You need to come and see us all again. Lucy's dying to see you again.'

Anabela noted that he didn't say Penny, and tried to stifle a smile. She didn't like Penny all that much; she seemed like someone straight from _The OC_, an old TV show her mom liked to watch reruns of. And Penny seemed to return the same negative feeling. Penny's world was immaculate, complete with leggy blondes whose slender frames graced the ceiling. Anabela, petite and dark, struggled with the constant feeling of incongruity amongst the shiny metal surfaces of her father's mansion. She was always relieved to return home to the safe cosiness of her mother's Boston apartment, full of warmth and of unconditional love. 

Anabela nodded and they resumed climbing the stairs, soon reaching the open door, where they could hear a man's laughter and the sound of something falling heavily onto the ground.

'Hey, Mom!' Anabela called through the apartment. 'Guess who I found lingering in the front hall?'

But when she entered the kitchen, she couldn't help laughing. Fallen cardboard boxes, on the floor, surrounded her mother. Ryan was completely ignoring the glare Gabriella was sending him, and wiped his eyes as he told Anabela simply, 'She slipped.'

Gabriella glowered and stood, brushing her hair from her face. 'What were you saying, _bebita_?' she asked, trying to forget the bruise she could feel forming on her thigh from the corner of a box she had fallen on.

Anabela grinned. 'Papa's here!'

Neil stepped out from behind the adjoining wall and smiled at the two in front of him. 'Hi, Gabriella, Ryan.'

Gabriella smiled back in greeting. 'Hi, Neil. What're you doing here?'

'Come to say goodbye, of course!' Neil said, looking around the kitchen at the numerous boxes. 'And to assist with the lugging of suitcases down the stairs. Thought you might need some help. I heard the theatre director didn't have much by way of muscles.'

'Such charm, this man,' Ryan said dryly. 'Remind me again why you two ever got married?'

Gabriella grinned at her best friend. 'He had a full head of hair.'

'Well, it's good you divorced him, then. He's going grey, and you know that's the first step to going bald,' Anabela unhelpfully added.

Neil glared at her, and stroked his hair self-consciously. 'I thought it made me look wise.'

'Keep dreaming, Papa.' Anabela smirked, moving to sit on one of the numerous boxes in the kitchen. 

Neil grimaced at her and walked over to give his ex-wife a peck on the cheek. 'Is there anything I can help you with?'

Gabriella shook her head. 'Nah, Neil, we're good. I just need to get my suitcase down the stairs and then we're done.'

Neil looked around him at all the boxes. 'But what about this stuff?'

Ryan chuckled. 'I may not have muscles, but I know about hot removal men. All this stuff is being put into storage later this afternoon.'

As Anabela laughed, Gabriella turned to Neil. 'Actually, there is something you could do for us.'

Neil raised his eyebrows. 'There is?'

Gabriella nodded. 'You see, I had to sell my car…'

_fmty_

Charlie opened the door to see Jake grinning widely at him, basketball in hand.

'Hey man,' he said, moving past Charlie into the house. 'Up for a game?'

Charlie closed his front door and followed Jake, shaking his head at the level of comfort the two had in each other's houses. 'Sure. What did you want to talk about?'

Whenever Jake had something on his mind, he would come over and shoot some hoops with his best friend to release tension. It had become almost a tradition; Charlie would play for maybe ten minutes before Jake would take the ball and begin to miss the hoop, until he finally got out whatever was bothering him. He'd finally make the shot once it was all resolved and the two could get back to playing some proper basketball.

'Can't a guy just want to play a bit of ball with his best mate?' Jake raises his eyebrows as he opened the sliding glass door into the backyard. This was that one problem with the situation; Jake never admitted to having things he was worried about.

Predictably, however, ten minutes into the game Jake took the ball from Charlie and began to shoot hoops, while Charlie sat on the hot concrete and watched him, squinting his eyes from the bright sun.

'My mom announced she was going to tutor me this year,' he said, missing the shot.

'Tutor you?' Charlie repeated. 'In Maths?'

'Maths and Science and whatever other subject I'm taking this year.' Jake prepared himself for another shot, but the ball hit the backboard and bounced over to Charlie. He picked it up and threw it back at Jake. 'She reckons that this year's really important. You know, the year before graduation and everything. She said that I couldn't let my grades drop anymore than they already have.' This time his shot was so off it missed the backboard altogether.

'Your grades aren't that bad, are they?' Charlie asked.

Jake shrugged, throwing the ball easily between his hands. 'Not good enough for Mom. You know how she is about these things.'

'And what does your dad say?'

Jake shrugged, throwing the ball half-heartedly at the hoop and missing again. 'He says he wants me to have a bigger range of choice than he did when he was at school. They both gave me this huge lecture last night. Dad told me that until Mom came along he only thought about basketball; he didn't have any other options. He wants me to be able to be happy with other things other than basketball.'

Charlie frowned. 'That sounds pretty reasonable, Jake.'

Jake nodded. 'I know. But, dude, tutoring, with my mom?'

Charlie shrugged. 'You've got her genes, man. She's a genius. You'll pick it up.' He shielded his face from the sun, peering up at Jake. 'And I kind of agree with them. Basketball can't be everything – I mean, look at Dad. An injury at twenty-three, the peak of his career, and that was it.'

Jake nodded, attempting the hoop once more. 'I just have no idea what I want to do after school. I mean, you seem to have always known.'

Charlie shook his head. 'You knew me when I had a dream of becoming a doctor, Jake.'

Jake laughed. 'That ended pretty quickly.'

'Yeah, when I realised how much work was involved. And I'd have to deal with needles.' Jake laughed again as Charlie shivered; his best friend had a phobia of needles. 'But this whole thing about me wanting to travel, and write, that only came recently, once I actually realised I was pretty good at it. And with dealing with jetlag.' 

'Yeah, man, but you know what I mean. There's only ever been basketball for me; mainly because it was the only thing I was remotely good at.'

Charlie scoffed. 'Jake, dude, you gotta get out of this slump. You're good at heaps of stuff.'

Jake rolled his eyes. 'Yeah? Like what?'

Charlie grinned. 'Kids, for one thing.'

Jake made a face. 'I don't think I like where this is going, dude.'

Charlie laughed. 'Nah, I just mean, you're great with your brothers. You like teaching them stuff. Jesse had a great time when you taught him how to skateboard. He would not shut up about it for the next month. You're patient…'

'Try telling that to my mom,' Jake grumbled, but he was blushing.

'I think that you're great at basketball, man, don't get me wrong; hell, it should be you who's captain, not me-'

'But that would ruin the wholesome father-son team that you've got going on,' Jake interrupted, grinning slyly.

Charlie stood up, holding his hands up for the ball. 'Just don't rule out teaching, okay?'

Jake shrugged as Charlie bounced the ball between his legs. 'I'll keep it in mind,' he said, and when Charlie handed him the ball, he made a perfect shot. 

_fmty_

Gabriella turned to Ryan and Neil. 'Well, this is it.'

Anabela looked around her theatrically. 'Goodbye, Boston! You know I still love you, and I promise I'll come back just as soon as _Abuela_'s better.'

Neil ruffled her hair. 'You're such a drama queen, Anabela.'

'It's from hanging around so much with him,' she said cheekily, pointing at Ryan. He opened his mouth, hurt clearly written across his face, but Anabela smiled and reached over to give him a hug. 'But I wouldn't have it any other way.'

Ryan smiled. 'Well, that's lucky, because you're stuck with me.'

'Well, good. 'Cos I love you.' Anabela tightened her grip on him. She was going to miss him, and all the comfort and love he showed her mother. Over the past few days he had been so much of a help, and now that the time was finally here to say goodbye, Anabela didn't know how she and her mother would cope with having him so far away. 

'I'll miss you, Anabela,' he said, smiling sadly. 'You take good care of your mother, you hear?'

Anabela nodded. 'I promise I'll do my best.' She squeezed her mother's hand and turned to her father, standing awkwardly beside the unconventional threesome. She gave him a big hug, smelling the cologne that lingered on his suit. 

'Thanks for coming, Papa. It meant a lot to me.'

He nodded, and kissed the top of her head affectionately. 'My pleasure, sweetie. I'll come and see you in Albuquerque when I have time, okay?'

Anabela nodded and hugged him again, knowing that he wouldn't and that she was okay with that.

When Anabela pulled away, Gabriella pecked her ex-husband on the cheek briefly, thanking him for making the journey, and then turned to Ryan. His eyes, sad and a little lost, reflected the same emotions she knew her gaze was projecting. She knew that they had seen each other off at airports before, but it had never been this painful, this significant. This seemed like the end of something; she couldn't place the intense jumble of emotions swarming around her belly as she contemplated leaving the only man who had proven to her she could love him unconditionally and not be hurt. 

As he pulled her into a tight hug, she noted that there were tears running down her cheeks, and realised that Ryan's chest too was heaving. She latched onto him harder, not wanting to let go and have to face the world without him. She was off to face her future and to deal with her past, and she didn't want to have to leave unless he was right there beside her.

'You'll be fine,' he whispered in her ear, and she wondered again at their connection, at this bizarre telepathy that they shared. 'I know that you're going to be great.'

She nodded her head and gave him one last squeeze, trying to thank him for everything he had done for her, not only in this past week but also throughout her life. In the end she felt the need for words, and she whispered into his ear, 'Thank you, Ry.'

He didn't need to speak. He kissed the side of her head tenderly, and it conveyed everything she knew he felt and everything she needed to pull away, wipe her face, giggle weakly at his red eyes, pick up her bag, take Anabela's hand in her own, and make her way to the plane. 

**Up next**: 

Anabela sighed. Late for her first class. This was priceless. For a girl who had been blessed with a perfect school record, on her first day of East High she had managed to get herself completely and utterly lost during homeroom. This was not the impression she had wanted to make. She had wanted to be inconspicuous! She had wanted to just get into class with everyone else, at the right time, not be hurled in front of calculating eyes when she turned up late. She wanted to curl up and die.

This last thought was interrupted, however, when something, or rather, someone, suddenly barrelled around the corner she was standing at and sent her, and all the papers in her hand, flying. 


	5. I've Just Seen A Face

Chapter Five: Of School and the Supermarket

**A/N**: I've decided to bring back one of HSM's much loved, or much hated, depending on which way you look at it, characters. Despite many thinking that she would've retired, considering the entire Troyella episode happened over twenty years ago, I reckon she simply wouldn't be able to bring herself to retire. Keep in mind that she's mellowed a bit with age! And don't forget to leave a review, telling me what you think! Because, after four chapters of set-up, the Montez girls are finally in Albuquerque! Sorry about the long wait!

And just a tiny little question before we get into it: if I were to bring back one of HSM's songs, which would you prefer out of _Start of Something New_, _Breaking Free_, _We're All In This Together_, or _You Are The Music In Me_? Or would there be another HSM song you'd like to see in here?

**Previously**:

Anabela grinned. 'Papa's here!'

Neil stepped out from behind the adjoining wall and smiled at the two in front of him. 'Hi, Gabriella, Ryan.'

Gabriella smiled back in greeting. 'Hi, Neil. What're you doing here?'

'Come to say goodbye, of course!' Neil said, looking around the kitchen at the numerous boxes. 'And to assist with the lugging of suitcases down the stairs. Thought you might need some help. I heard the theatre director didn't have much by way of muscles.'

'Such charm, this man,' Ryan said dryly. 'Remind me again why you two ever got married?'

Now on to…

**Chapter Five**

_I've Just Seen A Face_

'Oh, God, I'm late. Mom, we're late!' Anabela called, running through the house, trying to find her bag she was positive she had left down in the kitchen the night before. She found _Abuela_, a steaming mug of coffee and the paper in front of her, and a textbook Anabela had been reading last night, but no bag.

Giving _Abuela_ a kiss on the forehead, Anabela ran back up the stairs, cursing herself for not having picked out what she was going to wear last night, instead of this morning. It had taken her forever to choose the right clothes, even longer to make her face look presentable, and by the time she had gotten downstairs for breakfast she realised she should have already left for school. Groaning in frustration, Anabela turned to her mother's bedroom door, where Gabriella herself was emerging from, holding up a bag.

'Were you looking for this?'

Anabela frowned. 'Why was it in your room?' Shaking her head, she took the bag from her mother and slung it over her shoulder. 'It doesn't matter. We're very late.'

Gabriella nodded. 'I know. But don't worry. I'll get you there in time.'

Ten minutes later, Gabriella stopped outside the front of East High, peering through the window at the familiar building. 'I can't believe how everything has just not changed. Mom's house, the streets, the people…even good old East High.'

Anabela felt butterflies as she watched students filing into the big front doors. 'I can't believe that you got us here before the bell. Now I'll be able to get to the office and to homeroom.' She looked at her mother. 'You are amazing. And I need to go.'

Gabriella nodded. '_Bebita_, I know this is scary – God, I can still remember feeling like throwing up on my first days – but you'll be fine. You look lovely, and you'll be great.' 

Anabela smiled gratefully at her mother. 'Thanks, Mom. You'll be here at three?'

Gabriella nodded as Anabela got out of the car. 'Good luck!'

Anabela smiled, closing the door and turning to face East High. 'I'm going to need it.'

_fmty_

The hallways were crowded and Anabela, not exactly the tallest girl in her grade, could barely see over the tops of people's heads to see the numbers written on the doors. Finally realising she was passing by room 47, and that she needed to be in room 101, Anabela looked down at the piece of paper in her hand, trying to figure out the detailed map. Rummaging through the sheaf of papers in her hand to make sure that the room she was indeed headed for was room 101, Anabela groaned as the bell went. Despite her mom having got her here, miraculously, before the bell, she had still managed to be late; at this rate she wasn't going to make it for first period, let alone homeroom. She turned a corner, and stood still, wondering if she needed to be in this hall, or the one over. 

Confused and feeling very alone, Anabela stood still and tried to calm herself down. She was new, and she didn't know her way around. She could just find someone to help her out. However, once she had decided that this was the best course of action, she realised that all the people around her had disappeared, turning into classrooms lining the hallways, their laughter and buzzing talk slowly settling into silence. 

She sighed. Late for her first class. This was priceless. For a girl who had been blessed with a perfect school record, on her first day of East High she had managed to get herself completely and utterly lost during homeroom. This was not the impression she had wanted to make. She had wanted to be inconspicuous! She had wanted to just get into class with everyone else, at the right time, not be hurled in front of calculating eyes when she turned up late. She wanted to curl up and die.

This last thought was interrupted, however, when something, or rather, someone, suddenly barrelled around the corner she was standing at and sent her, and all the papers in her hand, flying. 

'Ouch,' she muttered, rubbing her side where she had fallen. Staring crossly at all the papers around her, she huffed and began to gather them into her hands. Now she was going to be even later than expected. She just hoped that the homeroom teacher would be nice and not a horrible person with a tendency to hand out detentions for tardiness. 

'Oh, good God. I am so sorry,' a male voice to her right said, collecting papers around him as well. Anabela stood up, dusting her jeans and swinging her bag back over her shoulder.

'It doesn't matter.'

'Are you alright?' She glanced up at the guy, a reassuring remark on her lips; however when she looked into his face all rational thoughts ceased to exist. 

She thought, 'God, he's gorgeous.' She thought, 'Those curls are irresistible.' She thought, 'Could his eyes be more blue?' She thought, 'Boy is he built.' She thought, 'You're staring at him like some sort of psycho-weirdo.' And at that last thought, she focused on his earlier question, and managed to close her mouth from where it had been hanging open.

'I'm fine. Thanks.' Damn. If only she could stop her voice from squeaking.

He smiled. 'You're new, right?'

Anabela nodded. 'Yeah. I just moved from Boston.'

The gorgeous guy grinned. 'I liked Boston. The Freedom Trail was actually interesting, despite my firm belief it would be as boring as hell.'

She smiled despite herself. 'What, did you go with school or something?'

He shook his head. 'No, I went with my dad. We travel a lot. When I was eight we went to Boston, and Dad insisted that we go and have a look at the Trail. I hated history back then, but seeing all those revolutionaries…' He shrugged. 'Does this make me a total nerd?'

'You don't look like a nerd.' Anabela's eyes widened, as she comprehended what she had just said. She clapped a hand to her mouth in horror, and blushed furiously.

The guy just laughed. 'Thanks. I'm a basketball player, actually. But I happen to believe that there is a little bit of nerd in the best of us.'

Anabela nodded. 'I think that is very true.' The guy smiled at her, and handed her back the papers she had dropped.

'I'm Charlie, by the way. Charlie Bolton.'

Anabela smiled widely. 'I'm Anabela. Anabela Montez.'

Charlie grinned. 'Pleased to meet you, Anabela Montez.'

_fmty_

One thing that _had_ changed in Albuquerque was the supermarket. They had rearranged the aisles and Gabriella wandered aimlessly amongst them, reaching out and pulling things from shelves whenever she found something she needed. The radio was blasting out some old tune that she found she remembered, and as she rolled her trolley down the cleaning aisle, she found herself humming along to it. That was, until she pulled a packet of dishcloths from the shelf, which caused the other packets, which had been stacked precariously on top of each other, to spill out all over the floor. 

Gabriella squeaked and tried to stop the falling dishcloths, but it was no use. They kept coming. She groaned, watching one last lone packet slip to the ground, and bent over, collecting the packets with the plan to stuff them back where they belonged, and then be extra frosty to whichever employee she saw next. 

'Here, let me help you with that,' a voice to her right said, and as she looked up, Gabriella was shocked to see a familiar face stare back at her. 

'Taylor?'

_fmty_

'So, I'm guessing the reason you were standing here is because you're completely lost and don't know where your homeroom is?' Charlie asked Anabela, watching as she stuffed the papers back into her bag.

'How very perceptive of you.' 

Charlie laughed. 'Which room are you in? I'll take you there. I'm late anyway; a couple more minutes won't make Darbus more angry.'

'I'm in room 101.'

He grinned. 'We're both in luck. That's where I'm headed.'

Anabela smiled. 'Great. Will the teacher hate me for being so late?' 

Charlie started walking, leading her through the halls and smiling. 'Nah. Darbus is really an old softie. And although she does have a thing with tardiness, she taught my dad when he was here. Despite him claiming she's an evil hag, I think she has a place in her tiny heart for the Bolton boys.' He puffed up his chest. 'I'll protect you, never fear!'

Anabela giggled. 'My knight in shining armour.'

'You betcha.' Charlie stopped by a red door and smiled. 'Well, here we are. Want to go in first?'

'What type of knight are you?' Anabela mock exclaimed, and Charlie grinned. 

'Fair enough.' He opened the door and a large lady with flyaway grey hair turned toward the door, her face softening from angry to amused.

'Mr Bolton. You are late.' She raised her eyebrows at him. 'Explanation, please.'

Charlie shrugged his shoulders. 'Mrs Darbus, you know my dad. He has to impress the ladies. He spends so much time in the bathroom I have a fear that he is actually becoming a girl.' Anabela stifled a giggle. 'This morning, despite him clearly understanding that he needed to give me a lift to school, he insisted on taking a shower. Half an hour later, I was still waiting for him.' Charlie shook his head dramatically. 'He's a real problem, Mrs Darbus. But what can I do with him? He's my dad.' 

Mrs Darbus was smiling. 'Very well, Charlie. Make sure that you don't sleep in next time, understood?'

Charlie bowed his head as the class laughed. 'Yes Miss.'

Mrs Darbus noticed Anabela standing behind Charlie, and frowned. 'And who's this?'

Anabela stepped forward, trying to ignore the curious glances she was receiving from the class. 'Anabela Montez. I'm sorry I'm late, I just got so lost trying to find this room…'

Mrs Darbus nodded. 'That's quite all right. Take a seat. Now that you do know where my classroom is, however, I am expecting that you will be on time from now on.'

Anabela nodded and Mrs Darbus launched back into her speech about Shakespearian plays. Anabela took the only spare seat, two from the front, and seeing other people taking notes, began to scribble away. Thankfully the bell rang before Mrs Darbus could really get carried away, and as Anabela shifted her papers so they fitted more neatly in her folder, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

'Hey,' Charlie said, his smile wide. 'What class do you have now?'

Anabela frowned and looked at her timetable. 'Science, with Mr Rivers.'

Charlie smiled. 'Cool. You're not with me, but I'm sure we'll catch up later today.'

Anabela nodded, trying not to seem too eager, and picked up her bag.

Charlie caught her arm before she turned to leave. His hand was large and warm and Anabela reminded herself that she did have a gorgeous boy all to herself back in Boston. 

'Just to let you know – you should sit at the back of River's class. He has a tendency to spit when he gets excited about neutrons.' Charlie gave her a wink and released her arm, smiling as he returned to his friends crowded at the door, one of which was bouncing a basketball impatiently. 

Anabela was so focused on trying to ignore the fluttery feelings in her stomach from having his hand on her skin by searching for her next class on her map that she didn't notice the glares that the remaining girls in the class were giving her.

_fmty_

'Gabriella!' Taylor squeaked, pulling her forward into a hug. 'Oh my God! What are you doing in Albuquerque?' 

Gabriella couldn't suppress her grin at seeing her old friend again, despite the morbid subject matter. 'My mom's actually really sick. I moved back so I could take care of her.'

Taylor frowned. 'Oh, Gabriella, I'm so sorry. What happened?'

'Breast cancer.' Taylor shook her head in sympathy. 'She's okay. I think she'll be all right. I just couldn't stay in Boston, not doing anything. I just had to come back.'

Taylor nodded. 'That's completely understandable.'

'But what about you?' Gabriella couldn't help ask. 'What are you doing now?'

Taylor grinned. 'I'm married. To Chad.'

Gabriella laughed. 'That's so great, Taylor!'

'Yeah, it really is. We have three kids – three boys – and I'm working as a teacher at good old East High.'

'You're joking.'

Taylor shook her head. 'I'm the Head of the Mathematics department. But we ran out of biscuits to have with our lunchtime coffee. I would've gone to Zeke's shop, but…'

'Wait, Zeke's still here?' So much for Ryan's thoughts about the Wildcats being off separately in the big wide world.

Taylor nodded her head. 'Yeah, he's got his own pastry shop now, and is married to a woman named Rachel. They have a gorgeous boy, Connor, who's the same age as my eldest, and a girl, Amanda, who's twelve.'

'Wow. That's amazing. I'm so happy for you all, Taylor.'

'What about you? What's been going on in the twenty-odd years since I've seen you?'

Gabriella smiled. 'Well, I went to Harvard to do medicine, and now I'm a paediatrician in Boston.' 

'Wow! And husband, children?'

Gabriella's smile turned a little sad. 'There _was_ a husband. We divorced eight years ago. But we have a lovely girl called Anabela. She's actually going to East High now, while we're here.'

Taylor laughed. 'Wouldn't it be funny if I turned out to be teaching her Maths!' She shook her head, remembering the woman in front of her as a nervous teenager on her first day. 'If she's anything like you were, Gabriella, she'll be wonderful to teach.'

Gabriella grinned, putting the last of the packages back on the shelf. 'While I never intended to create another "freaky genius girl"-' Taylor giggled at this '-Anabela does really like all the subjects I enjoyed at school.'

They smiled at each other, and then Taylor opened her mouth.

'Look, I've got a thousand questions I want to ask you, and I know that Chad would love to see you too.' Gabriella raised her eyebrows at this, and Taylor laughed. 'He's not such a lunkhead basketball man anymore. He's actually grown up since high school. Do you want to come over for dinner tomorrow night? So we can catch up? We're having our famous Friday night football, so there'll be a bunch of people there that will remember you and want to know what you've been doing.'

Gabriella ignored the fluttery feeling in her stomach, and crossed her fingers that the bunch of people didn't include one Troy Bolton. 'That'd be lovely, Taylor. I'd really like that.'

**Up next**:

During Spanish, towards the end of the lesson, while Senora Adega was conjugating verbs, the girl beside her, a pale redhead with a smattering of freckles across her nose, turned to Anabela with a smile.

'Hi. I'm Liv. And you're the new girl everyone's talking about.'

Anabela's face dropped. 'What?'

Liv giggled. 'You're exactly the way they're describing you. Big brown eyes, dark curly hair, petite. Basically, so gorgeous they have every reason to hate you. And when you turn up to homeroom with East High's resident hottie, you're bound to get the rumor mill started.' 


	6. Till There Was You

**A/N**: Hi, everyone. I'm so so so sorry about the long wait. Writer's block is a bitch. Thankfully I got my inspiration back (mainly in the form of some very persuasive PMs urging me to get back into it!) and planned the rest of this story out so that hopefully there will never be as long a wait as you guys just had to deal with! What do you guys think of this so far? Please R&R to tell me!

Also, since I only got one person who replied to my question from the last chapter, here it is again: if I were to bring back one of HSM's songs, which would you prefer out of _Start of Something New_, _Breaking Free_, _We're All In This Together_, or _You Are The Music In Me_? Or would there be another HSM song you'd like to see in here? I'd love to hear any views on this.

-

**Previously**:

Anabela sighed. Late for her first class. This was priceless. For a girl who had been blessed with a perfect school record, on her first day of East High she had managed to get herself completely and utterly lost during homeroom. This was not the impression she had wanted to make. She had wanted to be inconspicuous! She had wanted to just get into class with everyone else, at the right time, not be hurled in front of calculating eyes when she turned up late. She wanted to curl up and die.

This last thought was interrupted, however, when something, or rather, someone, suddenly barrelled around the corner she was standing at and sent her, and all the papers in her hand, flying.

-

Now on to…

**Chapter Six**

_Till There Was You_

Mr Rivers talked so much during the Science class that Anabela was unable to introduce herself to the tall blonde guy sitting next to her, however during Spanish, towards the end of the lesson, while Senora Adega was conjugating verbs, the girl beside her, a pale redhead with a smattering of freckles across her nose, turned to Anabela with a smile.

'Hi. I'm Liv. And you're the new girl everyone's talking about.'

Anabela's face dropped. 'What?'

Liv giggled. 'You're exactly the way they're describing you. Big brown eyes, dark curly hair, petite. Basically, so gorgeous they have every reason to hate you.' Anabela opened her mouth, unsure of what to say.

Liv smiled. 'Don't worry, not everyone hates you yet. It's just that when you turn up to homeroom, late, I might add, with East High's resident hottie, you're bound to get the rumor mill started.'

Anabela was genuinely confused. 'Um, what?'

The redhead raised her eyebrows. 'You and Charlie Bolton turned up to homeroom together, late. And then he hugged you.'

Anabela frowned. 'He didn't hug me. He touched my arm. That was all.'

Liv laughed. 'Well, rumors circulate around these halls pretty fast.' She tapped her chin thoughtfully. 'You know, it's good that you came here. I mean, till there was you, the whole school was discussing Felicity Williams' new hair color.' She rolled her eyes at Anabela. 'Boring. The girl changes her hair color like she changes her shirts. No, this "scandal" is much more interesting, trust me. Maybe not for you, granted, but for the rest of the school…' She grinned. 'You've made this place a much more interesting place to be.'

Anabela sat back in her chair, hardly able to believe this. 'This is unbelievable.'

Liv grinned. 'No, this is East High.'

The bell rang, and Senora Adega gave out sheets of verbs to conjugate for homework. Liv took one look at it and asked Anabela bluntly, 'You're Spanish, aren't you?'

'Half-Spanish.'

Liv sighed in relief. 'Thank God. I flunked Spanish all of last year and I need these marks. Could you help me out during lunch?'

Anabela was still slightly bewildered, but she smiled anyway. 'Yeah, sure.'

Liv threw her a grateful grin. 'You are an official goddess, to be eternally loved. Thank you. But, isn't this crazy, I still don't know your name.'

'I'm Anabela.'

Liv held out her hand. 'Nice to meet you, Anabela. Want to go grab some lunch?'

-

'So, dude, what's this about you kissing a girl during homeroom?'

Charlie looked at Connor, confused. 'What?'

'The girl you kissed during homeroom? Who is she?' Adrian looked curious.

At Charlie's still-bewildered face, Jake opened his milk carton, shaking his head. 'Guys, I don't think that Bolton here has heard the rumors.'

'Oh, God.' Charlie began to shake his head, his appetite suddenly gone. 'There are rumors already? It's only the beginning of lunch! On the first day back of school!'

'And what better time to get the rumors rolling? You know what the halls of East High are like, Charlie,' Robbie said. 'It's the ultimate place for gossip to fester and breed. Besides, this is old news. This is what's been talked about since homeroom.'

'Yeah, that's what I'm not understanding. What happened during homeroom?' Charlie asked, trying desperately to understand.

'Apparently you kissed a girl, dude,' Jake said lightly, swiping a couple of Charlie's fries from his plate. 'Which I'm guessing is completely untrue.'

'Well, yeah. Look, I didn't even touch a girl during…Oh, no.'

'This conversation just got interesting,' Robbie said, laughing. 'What the hell happened, dude? 'Cos you know what Danielle Roberts is saying…'

'Could this day get any worse?' Charlie groaned. 'What exactly is Danielle Roberts saying?'

'That you've been cheating on her with this new girl. And that she's going to set you straight.' Adrian was trying not to smile.

'How could I possibly be cheating on her? We're not even going out!'

Jake waved his hands. 'Look, I think the main thing we need to know is who exactly this girl is that has caught East High's attention so rapidly on the very first day of school.'

The cafeteria seemed to get quiet in that moment, and Charlie looked up to see what was going on. 'You can see for yourself.' The guys turned around in their seats to see where Charlie was looking. A redhead was leading a petite brunette to the lunch line. The girl's eyes were fixed on the floor, and there was a pretty pink tinge to her cheeks that exposed her embarrassment.

'She's hot, man,' Robbie said. 'No wonder you kissed her.'

'I didn't kiss her, okay!' Charlie exclaimed a bit too loudly, causing heads to turn from Anabela to the jocks' table curiously. He looked down at his plate of fries only to realise that it was empty. He glared at Jake, who whistled innocently.

'Well, what did you do, then?' Connor asked.

Charlie smiled sheepishly. 'I crashed into her when I was running late for homeroom with Darbus.' The guys grimaced – Darbus was renowned for her tardiness detentions – but Charlie waved it off. 'Her papers went flying, I helped her pick them up, we talked, I walked her to homeroom, which coincidentally is the same room as mine-'

'This is sounding exactly like one of those films Veronica's always trying to make me watch,' Robbie muttered.

'-we talked to Darbus, Darbus let us both off being late-'

'That woman wants you bad,' Adrian interjected unhelpfully at this point.

'-and then we sat at opposite ends of the room until the bell rang, at which point I went up to her and asked her what class she had next. She had Rivers for Science, I said that I didn't, and that was that.' Charlie peeled the lid off his jelly and paused. 'Actually, no. I grabbed her arm and told her that she better sit at the back during Rivers' classes, 'cos you know how he has that tendency to spit when he gets excited and…'

Connor was nodding his head in understanding of this last part of Charlie's story, but Jake shook his head.

'Well, it was the grabbing the arm that did it, dude,' he said, biting into an apple. 'And the coming to homeroom late. Because now every girl who's even half in love with you thinks that you two were having hot sex in the halls before class and that's why you were late.'

Charlie made a face. 'You're not serious.'

Jake put on a sombre face. 'Would I ever lie to you about something like this?' His face suddenly changed to one of pure horror. 'Oh, no, dude, incoming.'

'What?' Charlie turned around just in time to see Danielle Roberts, her cheerleading skirt so short it left nothing to the imagination, walking up to him resolutely.

'Oh, God. Hide me?' Charlie managed to squeak to his friends before Danielle was next to him, hand on her hip, looking cross.

'What was this I hear about you and another girl having sex in the halls before homeroom?' she asked.

Connor stifled a laugh as Jake shrugged at Charlie. 'Told you, dude.'

'Danielle, I have not had sex in the halls with _any_ girl, okay, let alone this new girl! Everyone in East High should know that nothing happened. Just lay off of her, okay? She's new, she shouldn't have to deal with trivial things like whether or not we're an item.'

Danielle's face brightened considerably through this speech. 'So you're not going out with her, then?'

Charlie realised the situation he had just put himself in, and ignored the laughter coming from the opposite side of the table. 'Well, no, but…'

'Great!' Danielle promptly sat in his lap, and Charlie grimaced. 'Well, Charles-' here there was uproar from Charlie's friends '-you made me upset, thinking that you didn't care about me. And you'll make sure it doesn't happen again, okay?'

Charlie stood up, Danielle falling off his lap and pouting. 'Look, Danielle, you're nice. I like you. But not in that way. Okay?'

Danielle crossed her arms over her chest. 'But you still like me.'

Charlie bit his lip. 'Well, yeah, but…'

Danielle beamed. 'Great. See you later then!'

Charlie rolled his eyes as his friends burst into laughter once more.

'That girl is insane,' Jake declared. 'Why she would want a stuttering fool like dear Charles here…'

Charlie glared at him.

'You need to be mean to her,' Adrian advised. 'Rather than fooling her into thinking she still has a chance with you -'

'I wasn't fooling her! There was no fooling involved!' Charlie accused.

Robbie shrugged. 'Delaney's right, dude. Be mean. That's the only way she'll understand.'

Charlie groaned. 'Thanks for the advice. I'm going to go and talk to Anabela.'

Connor nodded. 'Good move. That'd show Danielle.'

But when Charlie looked around the cafeteria, he couldn't see the petite brunette anywhere.

-

As Anabela collapsed into a seat at Liv's table, she tried to let her hair swing forward so the cafeteria couldn't see her flaming cheeks.

'That won't do any good,' Liv told her calmly, chewing on a lettuce leaf. 'You started blushing way back before in the lunch line.'

Anabela leaned over the table, her face anxious. 'Everyone was looking at me! Everyone went completely quiet! And I heard someone say that I was the girl who had fucked Charlie by the left wing lockers.' She shook her head, panicked. 'How did this even happen?'

'Like I said before, he's Charlie Bolton. If it had been anyone else you would've been completely anonymous. But Charlie's the god of East High. And when everyone sees him with a new girl-'

'A _gorgeous_ new girl,' a voice from next to Anabela piped up.

'-they go slightly crazy.'

'I think you're underestimating the crazy factor there by about a hundred,' Anabela grumbled.

Liv reached for her hand over the table. 'Hey, they've started to talk again. You can relax. And meet the other people sitting with you.'

Anabela looked up at the rest of the table, made up of three other girls and a lone guy, all of who were smiling at her sympathetically.

'Guys, this is Anabela,' Liv announced. 'Anabela, this is Holly-' she pointed at a tall black girl with dark hair curling past her shoulders '-that's the twins, Ashley and Maddy-' the two blondes smiled at Anabela '-that guy's Kieran-' he had a nice smile, and dusty brown hair '-and that girl next to you is Georgia.' Georgia had been the girl who had spoken earlier, a small, olive-skinned girl with dark eyes. Liv waved her arms at the group. 'We're a mixed bunch, but we get lumped into the music nerds-' she pointed at the twins, Kieran and herself '-slash the freaky genii.' At this she waved at Holly and Georgia.

Liv turned back to Anabela. 'Are you either?'

Anabela shrugged. 'I don't know. I like to sing, but only in the shower.'

'Good acoustics,' the twins said together.

'Well, let's see if you're towards the genius end of the spectrum. Care to lend a hand with my Spanish homework?'

Anabela nodded. 'Sure.' As Liv searched through her folder for the sheet, Anabela looked around the cafeteria. The cliques seemed to be very rigid. She could easily see the Goth table, the drama table, the cheerleader table, and the jocks' table. She couldn't help noticing there were a lot of people still staring at her. And then she saw Charlie, with a skinny blonde perched on his lap.

'That's Danielle Roberts,' Georgia said, seeing where Anabela was looking. 'She's been trying to snag Charlie Bolton for at least a year. But she's never succeeded. That's why you coming has caused such an uproar. Until you came along, Danielle was the most sought-after girl in school.' Georgia looked Anabela up and down. 'If you don't mind me saying, you're prettier than her, and within your first day managed to get Charlie Bolton's attention.'

'I didn't mean to!' Anabela said, sadly. 'He was just so nice when he bumped into me…'

Liv grinned triumphantly as she held up the Spanish worksheet for all to see. 'Ah-ha!' she declared. 'Okay, Anabela, you ready for my truly spectacularly terrible Spanish?'

Anabela began to feel a bit claustrophobic. 'Do you mind if we go to the library or something to do it?' she asked. 'It's kind of noisy in here.'

Liv smiled knowingly. 'Sure thing. I'll show you where it is.'

-

**Up next**:

Gabriella laughed, wishing that Ryan was right here beside her, rather than thousands of miles away. She wanted him to be with her, holding her hand. He had a way of cheering her up, of making her calm with a simple reassuring touch, that no one else had ever been able manage.

_Except for Troy_.

Gabriella almost groaned aloud. What was it with her today and all these soppy thoughts of Troy? _Just because Taylor and Chad are here_, she tried to reason with herself, _doesn't mean that _he_ is_.


	7. I Want To Hold Your Hand

**A/N**: Thank you so much for all the beautiful reviews! They all made me smile and kept me writing. And thanks to everyone who told me which song they'd like in here. You're just going to have to keep reading to find out which one I chose!

Anyway, as you can see from the little slice of the next chapter, it's the one you've all been waiting for: Troy and Gabriella finally meet after twenty years apart. But that's next time. I hope you like _this_ chapter, and please review to tell me what you think!

-

**Previously**:

During Spanish, towards the end of the lesson, while Senora Adega was conjugating verbs, the girl beside her, a pale redhead with a smattering of freckles across her nose, turned to Anabela with a smile.

'Hi. I'm Liv. And you're the new girl everyone's talking about.'

Anabela's face dropped. 'What?'

Liv giggled. 'You're exactly the way they're describing you. Big brown eyes, dark curly hair, petite. Basically, so gorgeous they have every reason to hate you. And when you turn up to homeroom with East High's resident hottie, you're bound to get the rumor mill started.'

-

Now on to…

**Chapter Seven**

_I Want To Hold Your Hand_

-

'Charlie! Pass the ball!'

Troy watched his son as he made a sloppy pass to Jake, which was immediately caught by Connor, playing for the opposite team, and taken back up the court. Charlie's shoulders dropped at his lousy play, and Troy could see the talking-to Charlie was giving himself before heading up to the other goalpost. Once the ball was through the hoop Troy blew his whistle, signalling for the team to circle up. All the boys gathered around him, faces turned up expectantly, shiny with sweat. He'd made them work hard today.

'That was a great practise, team. Our shooting needs a little work, but that's something we can figure out tomorrow. So…' Troy grinned, loving this part of practise. When they all came together, shouting as one. 'What team?'

Despite having exercised for two hours with barely any pause, the team grinned, placing their hands in the middle of their circle. 'Wildcats!'

'What team?' Troy asked.

'Wildcats!' they yelled louder. 'Get your head in the game!'

Troy beamed at them, then flapped his hands. 'Go on, get lost.'

They laughed at him, and their chatter flitted back across the gym as they made their way towards the showers.

'Hey, Charlie!' Troy called out, beckoning his son over from a conversation with Robbie. Troy could tell from the look on his son's face that Charlie knew he had played badly; his mind hadn't been on the game at all.

'Something wrong, Charlie?' Troy asked. 'You weren't playing so good today.'

Charlie sighed loudly. 'I know. There were sloppy passes all over the place and I just couldn't seem to get the ball in the hoop at all. I'm really sorry, Coach.'

Troy shook his head, waving the matter away, dropping his voice. 'I'm asking as your dad, kiddo. Are you feeling okay?'

The tall boy heard the concern and nodded reassuringly. 'I'm fine. My mind was just on other things.'

Troy's eyebrows raised teasingly. 'A girl, perhaps?'

He wasn't expecting Charlie to turn beet-red, but that was what happened. Troy couldn't help but laugh.

'Who is she?' he asked, truly curious now.

'Nobody,' Charlie replied, willing his face to return to its usual color. 'Can we please talk about something else?'

Troy grinned. 'Sure. Just one thing, kiddo.'

Charlie plucked at his shirt. 'Yeah?'

'You're telling me when she is somebody, okay?'

Charlie groaned. 'Fine, _Dad_.'

'But until then, don't let her put you off your basketball!' Troy smiled cheekily. 'No, go have a shower, kiddo. You stink.'

Charlie smiled, his grin lighting his eyes for the first time that practise. 'Your fault, Coach. You were the one who made us work this hard.'

'Do you want me to accidentally forget that you're having a shower, and drive off without you?' Troy asked, a teasing grin lifting the corners of his moth up. 'Because I will, if you're not nice to your old man.'

Charlie just laughed, turning back around to head towards the showers. They both knew that Troy would wait in the gym, shooting hoops, for as long as it took Charlie to get ready. No matter what.

-

'Hello!'

'Hi!' Gabriella stuck her head out of the kitchen door and smiled at Anabela, who was dropping her school bag with an exaggerated groan. 'How was your day?'

Anabela shrugged, taking a seat at the kitchen counter and grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl. 'It was okay. You know how it is. New people, new teachers, new syllabus…'

Gabriella smiled knowingly. 'Oh, do I. Did you meet anyone you like?'

The young brunette laughed. 'I bumped into this guy, Charlie, on my way to homeroom, and he was nice. He sweet-talked Darbus, our homeroom teacher, into letting us off lightly for being so late.'

Gabriella looked up from where she was cutting up tomatoes for dinner. 'You mean a Mrs Darbus?'

Anabela nodded, her mouth full of apple. She swallowed and asked, 'Why?'

'She was _my_ homeroom teacher when I went to East High.' Gabriella giggled. 'How funny is that?! Did she go on and on about the evils of cell phones?'

Anabela shook her head. 'Shakespeare.'

'My next choice.' Gabriella shook her head, suddenly swamped with memories she felt she'd rather forget. Walking into homeroom, nervous about the new school, only to have her cell phone ring loudly during one of Darbus' spiels and promptly put on detention with Troy. God, he had been gorgeous, with those blue eyes looking at her apologetically.

_Wow. Where did that come from?_ Gabriella hurriedly picked the conversation back up, hoping Anabela didn't catch the blush on her cheeks.

'She must've softened with old age. The first day I met her I was put on detention.' She laughed at her daughter's shocked face. 'Yes, the 'freaky genius girl' was on detention. Once.'

Anabela laughed. 'Does that mean if _I_ get detention you'll be more forgiving?'

Gabriella shook her head. 'Nuh-huh. Not a chance.'

Anabela pouted, and stood up to throw her apple core in the bin. 'Is _Abuela_ up?'

Gabriella nodded. 'I think so. She's in her room. I'm sure she'd love some company.' She watched as her daughter left the room, and, finishing the last of the tomatoes, decided to give Ryan a call. She missed him. And he'd kill himself laughing when he found out that Darbus was still teaching.

She dialled the number quickly and waited as it rang. She began to think that she'd have to leave a message, but he finally picked up.

'Hello?'

'Ryan. Hi. It's Gabriella.'

'Hey, Gab!' There was some noise on his end of the line and then there was quiet. 'How're you? How's Albuquerque?'

Gabriella looked out the kitchen window, resting her chin on her palm. 'Well, Albuquerque is exactly the same. Same streets, same houses, same East High…and guess what.'

She could hear the smile in his voice. 'What?'

'Mrs Darbus is Anabela's homeroom teacher.'

Ryan burst out laughing. 'As in our Mrs Darbus?'

Gabriella nodded, pleased with his reaction. 'The very same! Can you believe it? Still teaching after all these years…'

'She should have retired,' Ryan said, chuckling. 'She saw her very own little drama unfold before her very eyes with you and Troy stealing the Evans' twins limelight. There was nothing left to teach or to top that!'

Gabriella laughed, wishing that Ryan was right here beside her, rather than thousands of miles away. She wanted him to be with her, holding her hand. He had a way of cheering her up, of making her calm with a simple reassuring touch, that no one else had ever been able manage.

_Except for Troy_.

Gabriella almost groaned aloud. What was it with her today and all these soppy thoughts of Troy? _Just because Taylor and Chad are here_, she tried to reason with herself, _doesn't mean that _he_ is_.

'So how are you, sweetie?' Ryan asked, bringing her back to reality.

Gabriella sighed. 'I honestly don't really know right now.'

'Why?'

She drew in a deep breath; he had to hear the entire story before she would tell him her fears. 'I was at the supermarket, innocently getting some food for dinner.'

'Mm. What're you making?'

'Ryan!'

'Sorry. I haven't had lunch. And the Montez girls always have good food around…' He gathered himself. 'I'm sorry. You were at the supermarket…'

Gabriella nodded. 'Yeah. And I remembered we needed some dishcloths. Anyway, they were stacked badly or something, but before I know it, all these packets of dishcloths were falling down on top of me.'

Ryan stifled a laugh. 'Yeah?'

'I was picking them up, and who should come over and help, but…'

'Do I need to insert a drum roll here?'

Gabriella managed a weak giggle. 'It was Taylor.'

'Taylor? As in Taylor McKessie? As in your old best friend?'

'Yup.' Gabriella gazed at the ceiling. 'God, Ryan, she looked exactly the same. You know, a little wrinkled around the edges…'

Ryan sighed dramatically. 'Who isn't, at our age?'

'But she looked great. She's cut her hair, and it really suits her. And, get this, she's married to Chad.'

Ryan raised his eyebrows. 'Really?'

Gabriella laughed. 'I think I used to same incredulous tone with her too. They have three kids. Three boys. And that's not all.'

Ryan bit his lip. 'Is now the right time to say that I'm starting to regret telling you that everything would be fine? That all the Wildcats would be off in different parts of the globe?'

'Ah-huh. Zeke's still here. He owns a pastry shop.'

Ryan laughed. 'And that's my reason to finally return to Albuquerque. That man's chocolate chip cookies were heaven.'

'He's married, too, and he has two kids. I can't remember their names, or if Taylor even told me their names. It was just all so surreal. I mean, there was this old song playing on the radio, and it was like being taken back in time.'

'That's intense, Gab.'

'Oh, Ryan, you haven't even heard the best part. The part where Gabriella Montez completely lost her mind for a second, and agreed to go to Taylor's for a Friday night football dinner, where there would be a group of people Taylor just knew would love to hear all about what Gabriella had been doing these past few years.'

There was silence on Ryan's end of the line, and then boisterous laughter made its way through the phone.

'Hey!' Gabriella said, insulted. 'This isn't funny!'

Ryan was gasping for breath. 'This could only happen to you, Gab. Only you.'

'Can you believe I agreed? Can you imagine who's going to be in that group of people?'

Ryan smiled. 'Well, we can all imagine, Gab. And I'd hazard a guess that you are imagining Troy Bolton turning up to this dinner.'

Gabriella crossed one foot over the other. 'Well, yeah, I am.'

'And?'

Gabriella groaned. 'I don't know, Ryan! When I left, I thought I had left for good. I thought I would never have to see or hear from any of the Wildcats again. Bar you, of course.' She smiled remembering Ryan somehow finding out her address and coming to her dorm, banging on the door until she let him in. They had talked for hours that night, and Gabriella had realised that this was one Wildcat she simply could not let go. 'I just…It's _Troy_. I know it's been twenty years, but we left on such bad terms. What if he is here? What do I do if I see him again?'

Ryan shrugged. 'You smile and say, casually, "So, stranger, what've you been doing for the past twenty years?"'

Gabriella scrunched up her nose. 'Why do you make everything sound like a pick-up line?'

Ryan laughed. 'That's just me and my charm, sweetheart.' There was a loud noise at his end of the phone and Gabriella knew instinctively that there was a work problem he had to return to.

'Gabriella? I have to go. I'm so sorry.'

She smiled. 'Don't worry about it, Ry. I have to finish making dinner anyway.'

'How I wish I was with you!' Ryan's voice turned serious. 'But not just because of your cooking, Gab. Remember, you can call me at any time, about anything, okay?'

'I know.' She smiled. 'Love you, Ryan.'

'I love you too, Gab. Tell Anabela she has to call me with details about how East High's going after all these years.'

'I will.'

Ryan smiled. 'And Gab?'

'Yeah?'

'Good luck with tomorrow's dinner.'

Gabriella closed her eyes, ignoring the frightened lurch in her stomach. 'Thanks, Ry.'

-

Anabela's mind couldn't stop drifting to all that had happened that day as she tried to finish her Maths homework. She was confident that the workload would be okay – she had inherited her mother's genes, after all – but everything else associated with East High made her feel slightly sick with anxiety.

It was true that she had been extremely lucky to sit next to Liv in Spanish; it had meant that she had found a group she felt at home in straight away. Liv was friendly and talkative, and was able to make Anabela laugh easily. The twins, Ashley and Maddy, were bubbly and although it had been slightly strange hearing them finish off the ends of each other's sentences when Anabela had sat with them during English, she was fascinated by their lives, so entwined with music. Ashley played the trumpet, while her sister played the saxophone ('because of Lisa Simpson,' Maddy had explained rationally). And Kieran was lovely, with his big doe eyes, looking completely lost as Mrs Danforth had attempted to teach them some advanced algebra.

It was just the rest of the school that was worrying her. That her arriving late to class with Charlie Bolton would result in a rumor by lunchtime that they had slept together…Who on earth was he, to prompt that much of a reaction? What had she gotten herself into?

Algebra was usually a painless task for Anabela, but today it was taking far longer than it usually did. Repeating over and over in her head that this thing (whatever it was) with Charlie would die down, since they revolved in completely different circles, she gripped her pen firmer and concentrated on the last question.

That concentration was interrupted, though, when her phone suddenly buzzed, causing her to jump in surprise, kicking her toe against the wall accidentally.

'Ow!' she cried, biting her lip. Damn whoever was calling! She looked at the caller id, and all pain and previous thoughts were wiped from her mind.

It was Ethan.

'Hey, you!' she said, bouncing over to her bed and flopping down on it, desperate to hear his low voice.

'Hi, Anabela.' He sounded different.

Anabela frowned. 'Are you okay? You sound a little upset…'

'I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?' The anger in his voice was evident now. 'My girlfriend hasn't called me since she left to live in a different state, four days ago, but hey, the rest of life's good.'

'Ethan…' Anabela felt almost as furious as Ethan sounded. How dare he take that tone with her when she had been busy visiting _Abuela_ in hospital, cleaning the house with her mother so that when Carmen had returned, yesterday morning, she had been completely comfortable and at ease. Not to mention she had been trying to comprehend starting a new school…

But her anger was soon overcome by guilt. She should've called him. He was her boyfriend, after all. He had told her he loved her the day before she left. He would've been worried about her, about what had been going on in her life.

'I'm really sorry, Ethan,' she said, sitting with her back to the wall. 'I've been meaning to call ever since I got here. It's just that things have been so hectic, with school and my grandmother and everything… I should've called. I was going to, tonight. After I had dinner.'

Ethan was silent. Anabela wished she could see his face; have him in front of her so she could smooth out the consternation in his forehead and kiss his cheek and make everything all right again. 'I've missed you so much, Ethan. You have no idea.'

She heard him sigh. 'I've missed you too, Anabela. Today was so weird without you around…'

She smiled sadly. 'I wish I had been there. How was it?'

'You know, same old, same old.' Ethan chuckled. 'Although we did catch Rebekkah and Luke making out before homeroom. Turns out they got together late last week.'

Anabela grinned. 'That's great! They've been secretly in love with each other for so long…'

'How about you?' Anabela smiled; his mood seemed to have lifted.

'It was weird. I'm going to the same school that my mother went to when she was my age, and it turns out the homeroom teacher I have is the same as she had…' Anabela giggled. 'It's just strange. Twenty years later, and she's still teaching at East High?'

'Weird,' Ethan agreed.

'And the people are kind of strange. I was so lost before homeroom, so this guy helped me out, and apparently he's this huge basketball god at the school. So now there's this rumor going around the school that he and I were together before class…' Anabela couldn't help laughing. 'It's bizarre, Ethan, completely weird.'

His end of the phone was quiet again. She frowned. Why was he acting like this?

'Ethan? You still there?'

'Yep,' he said shortly.

'You aren't thinking that the rumor's true, are you?' she asked, suddenly struck with an idea as to why he seemed different. He was quiet again, and she laughed. 'You're jealous? Ethan, don't be ridiculous…'

'I'm not being ridiculous!' he said loudly. 'You're miles away from me and I don't know what's going on down there…'

'Nothing's going on down here, Ethan. I love _you_, remember? Nobody here even comes close to being as important as you are to me.'

'But how am I to know that you aren't fooling around with this guy? Huh?'

Anabela couldn't believe him. 'There's this thing called trust, Ethan. I trust you to not fool around with people in Boston, and you'll just have to trust me here. Okay?'

He was quiet. 'I just…I want you here. I want to hold your hand. I want to kiss you and have you at school with me and work on projects together…'

She laughed, remembering the numerous assignments they had completed together where every ten minutes Ethan would claim he needed a study break, crawling over to her and kissing her thoroughly, making her forget entirely what they were supposed to be doing, even where they were. 'You just want the study breaks.'

'Those too.' There was a pause, and she could hear Ethan's mother talking to him in the background. 'I have to go, Anabela. Homework and dinner and stuff.'

'Yeah. I know.'

'Call me soon, okay?'

'I will, Ethan. I love you.'

'I love you too.'

But as the line went dead, Anabela wasn't entirely convinced he meant it.

-

**Up next**:

They could hear the beginning of football commentary, drowned out mostly by raucous male laughter. And then someone knocked hesitantly on the door.

Gabriella felt her heartbeat suddenly increase. She didn't know exactly how she knew, but deep inside she felt that something disastrous was about to happen. And when Troy Bolton poked his head inside the door, she thought she might throw up. Or collapse. Or both.


	8. Come Together

**A/N**: Thank you all so much for the reviews for the last chapter! They were all so encouraging! If eleven people review this chapter, I'd have fifty reviews in total. And that would just be so great! (Wink wink, nudge nudge.) So please please please tell me what you think of this! Please?

As for the dresses that Anabela pulls out in this chapter, they were all worn by Vanessa Hudgens at one time or another and can be found on the Internet. The short black dress is making another appearance in this story, and is based on the one V wore to the _Hairspray_ premiere. Take a look at it – it's such a gorgeous dress and I don't think my description really did it justice!

-

**Previously**:

Gabriella laughed, wishing that Ryan was right here beside her, rather than thousands of miles away. She wanted him to be with her, holding her hand. He had a way of cheering her up, of making her calm with a simple reassuring touch, that no one else had ever been able manage.

_Except for Troy_.

Gabriella almost groaned aloud. What was it with her today and all these soppy thoughts of Troy? _Just because Taylor and Chad are here_, she tried to reason with herself, _doesn't mean that _he_ is_.

-

Now on to…

**Chapter Eight**

_Come Together_

-

When Anabela made it to homeroom – right on the bell, which she was very proud about – she saw Charlie leaning back in his chair, talking to a guy behind him. When he saw her, his face lit up, and he grinned. She smiled back, and dropped into the nearest chair, placing her head in her hands. She hadn't slept well last night, thinking about Ethan and her relationship, and agonising over whether he was angry with her, whether he didn't trust her to remain faithful to him. She was so busy thinking about it that she barely registered that the bell had rung for first period. She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

'Sorry!' Charlie apologised, his face slightly worried. 'I didn't mean to scare you.'

Anabela blushed. 'No, it's all right. I'm just a bit out of it today.'

Charlie leaned against the opposite table while she gathered her books, the last few students filing outside, their voices fading away as they moved. 'Are you okay?'

Anabela smiled at his concern. 'I'm fine. I just didn't sleep well last night, is all.' She sighed, pushing her hair out of her eyes. 'My boyfriend and I kind of had a fight over the phone, and then I just kept thinking about it, about how I could make it all up to him…'

If Charlie was disappointed to hear that she had a boyfriend, his face didn't betray it.

She shook her head. 'You don't want to hear me blather on about that, though. What do you have now?'

'I've got a free. So, basketball practice. You?'

'Spanish.' Anabela looked past him at the doorway. 'Um, Charlie, I think you've got some people waiting for you.'

Charlie turned his head in time to see Jake stalk into the room, Connor trailing behind, apparently bored of waiting for their captain.

Jake got straight to the point. 'Dude, not only are you just working towards making the rumors worse, your dad will kill you if you turn up late to practice.'

Anabela winced. 'Okay, I'm getting out of here. I do not want the same reaction in the cafeteria as I did yesterday.'

Connor shook his head. 'I wouldn't worry about it. Turns out Rachel Lawson broke up with Pete Newsom yesterday afternoon on the baseball field. You're old news now.'

Anabela raised her eyebrows and said, unsure, 'Yay for me?'

'They'll be back together by this afternoon, I bet,' Jake said. 'Rachel's got Pete tied around her little finger. He can't say no to her.'

Charlie turned sharply to Anabela. 'I'm sorry. I forgot to say. This is Jake, and Connor.'

'I'm-'

'Anabela.' Jake smiled. 'Trust me, we know.'

Anabela blushed. 'Oh, right.' She looked at the clock behind Mrs Darbus' desk. 'Oh, crap. I'm late. Where's the Spanish room again?'

Connor gave her directions, and, with a quick smile at Charlie, Anabela rushed from the room.

'Nice and cute,' Jake said approvingly. 'You've got yourself a catch there, dude.'

Charlie swung his bag over his shoulder, and followed his friends out the door. 'A catch who's very much taken. She told me this morning she has a boyfriend back in Boston.'

Jake clapped him on the back sympathetically, while Connor said unhelpfully, 'Well, I hear that Danielle Roberts is single…'

He didn't object when Charlie hit him upside the head.

-

'Okay, it's official,' Liv declared, as Anabela finished explaining the subjunctive paper they had been given during their Spanish lesson. 'You're in the genius part of this group.'

Anabela scoffed. 'You exaggerate, Liv.'

Liv shook her head. 'Nah. The twins told me that yesterday in English you knew exactly what the teacher was talking about when she mentioned Ambrose Bierce, and Kieran said you were the only one in the Maths class that wasn't looking at Mrs Danforth like she was speaking alien.'

Anabela looked at Kieran accusingly. He just stuffed a couple of chilli fries in his mouth, obviously not wanting to admit to anything.

Anabela turned back to Liv. 'I'm no genius, Liv.'

Holly laughed. 'Try as hard as you like, Anabela, once Liv's decided your part of the group, that's where you stay. No matter what.'

Liv glared at Holly. 'I'd like to say that I'm very willing for Anabela to prove me wrong about this genius thing, and show me how she can sing. Then maybe we'd have another girl in the music sector of the table.'

Anabela was already shaking her head. 'No way. Liv, you are not hearing me sing.'

The redhead pouted. 'Why not?'

Anabela looked heavenwards. 'You're just not, okay?'

'Why? Are you shy? Stage fright? Because I think there are pills you can take for that sort of thing…'

Anabela looked at her pointedly. 'Liv.'

Liv shrugged. 'I was joking, Anabela.'

Anabela looked at her half-eaten sandwich. 'Fine. If you really want to know, yes, I have bad stage fright. I get it from my mom. Who, unlike me, has a fantastic voice. But she can't sing in front of crowds. So her talents have been completely wasted on singing me lullabies to get me to sleep. Me, on the other hand…Everyone should be very happy they haven't heard me sing.'

Liv frowned. 'Well, I don't believe you. You hum during Spanish when you're conjugating verbs. And you're not bad. You're actually pretty good. And I just found this piece of music I really like. And I need someone to sing it for me. It's really nice. It's called 'Start of Something New'.'

'Sounds corny,' the twins said.

Liv shrugged. 'It is, a little, but it's cute. And I know that you could do it, Anabela.' She put her best puppy-dog face on and clasped her hands. 'Please?'

Anabela couldn't help but giggle at Liv's face. 'Sorry. You're going to have to try harder than that.'

-

'God it's hot!' Anabela said, stalking into her mother's room, drying her hair with a towel. 'I could hardly concentrate at all when I was studying for Spanish, but I thought it would've cooled down by now.'

Gabriella, dressed only in a pink bra and undies, looked at her daughter in her mirror's reflection, amused. 'Don't you have a fan?'

Anabela nodded her head, watching as her mother pull her hair into a bun. 'I sure looked really cool talking about the importance of multiculturalism in American society with my face as close as it possibly could be to the fan.'

Gabriella laughed, letting her hair down again.

'Leave it like that, Mom,' Anabela said, throwing her towel on the floor and wandering to her mother's closet. 'Hmm. Mind if I try this on?'

Gabriella turned around to see Anabela pulling on a short black dress, held up with one strap decorated with a big black bow. 'You look great in that, _bebita_, but it's too fancy for a casual dinner.'

Anabela sighed, and went to pull the zipper back down. 'One day, there'll be an event that does call for fancy clothes, and I'll wear this dress.' She looked back in the wardrobe, humming to herself. 'Ah-hah!'

This dress was a beautiful indigo color, with a loose bow giving detail to the neckline. Anabela twisted in front of the mirror, frowning at her reflection, and then made to take it off. 'You're wearing this tonight.'

Gabriella smiled, taking a seat on her bed. 'Am I?'

Anabela nodded, already rifling through her mother's other dresses, twirling a piece of her long dark hair around her finger. 'It suits you better than me. You look really nice in that blue. This, however…' She slipped a dress over her head. 'And I have found the winner.'

She smiled triumphantly at her mother. 'What do you think?'

It was a simple beige shift dress with a white lace trim. Anabela struck a pose, making Gabriella laugh.

'I like it.' Gabriella held out her hand and Anabela put a pair of gold flats in her palm. 'How was your second day of school? Better than your first?'

Anabela shrugged, applying a little eyeliner. 'You know how it goes. Things were a little better. I managed to get to homeroom on time, and found my Spanish class without too much trouble. I even got to the cafeteria without too many wrong turns.' She grinned at her mom. 'During lunch, Liv declared that I was a genius.'

Gabriella laughed. 'Who would've thought that my little girl would emulate her mother to become the next generation 'freaky genius girl'?'

Anabela glared at her mom, trying to balance unsuccessfully on one foot as she tried to get her beige flat on. 'Well, then she tried to get me to sing. She plays the piano, and apparently she found this song she really likes. And she said she wanted me to sing it for her.'

'That girl's got a lot to learn,' Gabriella said, smiling cheekily.

'Well, she learnt that Anabela Montez sure is damn stubborn. There's no way that I'll sing, in front of her or in front of anyone.' Anabela shook her head. 'No way, no how.' Taking one of her mother's long pendants from the jewellery box and putting it around her neck, Anabela looked at the two of them in the mirror. 'We look great.'

Gabriella glanced at the clock beside her bed, and gave Anabela a little push. 'And we're going to be late if we don't hurry. Quick!'

-

Taylor opened the door, and Anabela couldn't stop her mouth from dropping open. 'Mrs Danforth?'

Taylor smiled. 'Hi, Anabela.'

Anabela turned to her mother, her voice light. 'Your old best friend is my Maths teacher? And you didn't tell me? Mom, this is embarrassing.'

Taylor laughed. 'I promise I won't say anything during class. Trust me. Jake set down all the rules when he started East High. I'm not allowed to treat him differently to anyone else because God forbid someone actually figure out that he and I share the same last name…'

Gabriella was giggling, but Anabela was frowning.

'Jake? You don't mean…'

A tall boy with an afro came down the stairs, pausing as he saw who was at the door. 'Anabela?'

'…that Jake,' Anabela finished weakly. 'Hi.'

Gabriella couldn't help smiling. 'You guys know each other?'

Anabela was red. 'We met today, actually.'

Taylor was biting her lip to stop laughing. 'Jake, this is Gabriella. She was my best friend during high school.'

Jake grinned, holding out his hand for Gabriella to shake. 'Oh, hi! Mom's told me all about you.'

Gabriella looked a little embarrassed. 'I hope nothing bad…'

Taylor shook her head. 'Of course not. Look, come in. The game's going to start soon.'

Sure enough, if they listened hard enough, they could hear the beginning of football commentary, drowned out mostly by raucous male laughter. But before anyone made a move, someone knocked hesitantly on the door.

Gabriella felt her heartbeat suddenly increase. She didn't know exactly how she knew, but deep inside she felt that something disastrous was about to happen. And when Troy Bolton poked his head inside the door, she thought she might throw up. Or collapse. Or both.

'Hello?'

_Of course it's not Troy_, she told herself, trying to calm her pulse. _Troy can't have stayed seventeen forever. And his skin was more tanned; his hair was never that exact color_…

'Charlie?' Anabela asked, hardly believing what was happening. First her Maths teacher turned out to be her mother's long-lost best friend, then Jake turned out to be her Maths teacher's son, now Charlie Bolton was here in the doorway…It was almost too much to handle.

'Oh, hey!' He looked truly pleased and a little surprised to see her. 'What are you doing here?'

Anabela didn't know where to begin. 'Well, um…' She looked to her mom to rescue her, but Gabriella looked like she had seen a ghost. 'It turns out Mrs Danforth-' Anabela began.

'It's Taylor, Anabela. Don't worry about the Mrs Danforth bit.' Taylor was grinning.

'Taylor used to be my mom's best friend in high school, when Mom went to East High.'

Charlie nodded. 'Oh, right.'

Whenever Anabela felt nervous, she had a tendency to babble, and standing here, with her mother quiet and in a house full of near-strangers, Anabela felt desperate to talk. 'Mom, this is Charlie Bolton, the one that rescued me from Mrs Darbus. Charlie, this is my mom, Gabriella.'

Gabriella felt as if all this was happening from way down below. She was circling Taylor's ceiling, watching the events unfold beneath her. Her heart was beating so fast and so loudly she was surprised everyone around her couldn't hear it.

Charlie was looking at Taylor. 'Dad'll be here in a second. He was just deciding which shirt he should wear.' Taylor and Jake laughed, and Charlie grinned. 'I live two doors down, Anabela, in case you were wondering. And I'm being completely serious about Dad's dilemma.'

Taylor shook her head at Charlie. 'You're too bad, Charlie Bolton.'

There were footsteps coming up the porch steps and Charlie smiled. 'Well, speak of the devil.'

'Hey, guys. Sorry about that.'

It was like time had slowed down. Gabriella could hear her short, shallow breaths, her heart beating loudly in her ears. _This_ was Troy. His face was exactly as she remembered it. Lightly tanned, blue eyes sparkling, light brown hair falling into his eyes, an easy smile lifting the corners of his mouth up. There were more lines than when she had seen him last, but God, she felt as if she was seventeen again, setting her gaze on him for the first time, the only thoughts swirling in her head awed at how gorgeous he was.

His cobalt eyes scanned the hall slowly, and she felt them land on her. There was so much conveyed in that one look (recognition, disbelief, anger; all characterised by the merest creasing of his brows), and Gabriella felt for a second as if she might faint.

'Gabriella?' she heard him ask.

'Troy,' she managed to whisper. The group crowded in the doorway had become silent, and as soon as she realised that everyone's eyes were on her and the man standing a little way in front of her, she broke his gaze, time quickly returning to its usual pace.

'Anabela.' Her daughter's eyes were curious and a tiny bit worried. 'We have to go.'

Anabela opened her mouth, but Gabriella's almost-desperate look silenced her.

'I'm sorry, Taylor…' Gabriella gabbled, looking anywhere but those intense eyes she remembered so well. 'I just…I have to go.'

Taylor was nodding, and, making sure her daughter was right behind her, Gabriella scrambled out the door, not looking back once.

-

**Up next**:

Anabela was talking before she really even realised. 'Do you remember in kindergarten, how you'd meet someone, and know nothing about them, then 10 seconds later you'd be playing like you were best friends, because you didn't have to be anyone but yourself?'

Charlie chuckled. 'Yeah?'

Anabela smiled. 'That's how I feel around you. I don't know much about you, anything about the really important stuff, at all. And you don't really know that much about me, either. But it feels like it doesn't matter. I can just be me around you, just this girl, without any prejudices or expectations about who I am.' She blushed. 'Does that make sense?'


	9. If I Needed Someone

**A/N**: We're almost there, folks. Next chapter all will be exposed as to why Troy and Gabriella broke up – it only took ten chapters to get there! As to this chapter, there's quite a bit of Charlie/Anabela fluff (I can't help myself!). Italics represent past events. There'll be points to anyone who finds the phrases direct from _HSM_, but superdooper points to anyone who recognises the _Gilmore Girls_ reference.

And please, please, please review! It sounds selfish, but I need quite a lot of emotional boosting to keep me writing, and so if you like this story please let me know. I don't mind if it's just one word! Thanks especially to _xorss_ – your constant reviews always make me smile and feel inspired to keep writing.

-

**Previously**:

They could hear the beginning of football commentary, drowned out mostly by raucous male laughter. And then someone knocked hesitantly on the door.

Gabriella felt her heartbeat suddenly increase. She didn't know exactly how she knew, but deep inside she felt that something disastrous was about to happen. And when Troy Bolton poked his head inside the door, she thought she might throw up. Or collapse. Or both.

-

Now on to…

**Chapter Nine**

_If I Needed Someone_

-

The sound of a cock crowing woke Gabriella up suddenly, and cross at the wretched rooster, she felt around her bedside table for the offending object. Damn Anabela and her tradition of two presents for birthdays – the first a cheap silly one and the second the real gift. The alarm clock had been Gabriella's 'funny' present for her thirty-first birthday (and while it had been hysterical when Anabela had presented it to her, at the sweet age of ten, in the mornings Gabriella thought it was the least funny thing she had ever heard). Gabriella hated the stupid rooster, but neither she nor Anabela could figure out how to change the alarm. And, like so many things in life, she had never gotten around to buying another, less infuriating, alarm.

She finally found the 'off' button she was looking for and turned the crowing off. Slumping back onto her pillows sleepily, she pulled her covers back up and closed her eyes again. It was a quarter to eight, and although she'd have to get up soon to take Anabela to school, right now, enclosed in her warm blankets, she didn't want to go anywhere.

She could hear Anabela in the kitchen, the sound of her spoon clinking against her bowl as she ate her cereal almost soothing. If Gabriella listened really carefully, she could hear the pages of the book her daughter was reading as she ate.

A little over two weeks in and Anabela was already adjusting to her new school, the people, Albuquerque in general. Granted, she wasn't entirely sure that the incident in the cafeteria yesterday had been an accident, but still. Gabriella was so proud of her daughter. She knew how difficult it was to pack up and leave everything and everyone you loved. Unlike her, however, Anabela had tried in vain to remain a part of life back in Boston. Gabriella hadn't brought it up, but she had heard her daughter and Ethan fighting on the phone for the past couple of nights now. She hoped they could sort things out, but long distance relationships were so hard, especially at Anabela's age. And although she'd never tell Anabela, she didn't believe that Ethan would be trying very hard to make it work. While he had been very sweet to Anabela, there was always something there that Gabriella didn't like about him.

Not everyone could be as lucky as her in regards to their first boyfriend.

She groaned and buried her head back into her pillow. There he was again, Troy, popping up into her thoughts without warning. Ever since she had run out of Taylor's house two weeks previous, he'd appeared in her mind near-constantly. It didn't matter what she was doing, the shopping, the cooking, driving her mother to her chemotherapy, picking Anabela up from school, talking to Ryan, making sure her mother was all right…Everything and anything reminded her of him, and suddenly he'd be back in her thoughts, teasing her with those bluest of blue eyes.

She remembered ringing up Taylor the day after her rude exit, apologising profusely.

_'I'm so sorry, Taylor!'_

_'It's fine, Gabriella. I hadn't even thought about what had happened with the two of you, I was just thinking about getting the group back together…'_

_'And that was such a great idea, Taylor. I was stupid to run out. I really did want to see everyone.'_

_Taylor was a little quiet. 'Just not Troy, right?'_

_Gabriella swallowed, hard. 'I thought that it would be okay, seeing him again. It's been twenty years since I saw him, after all. But then…' She looked down, pulling at her shirt. 'I didn't realise I'd be so affected.'_

_Taylor giggled. 'He was too, if it's any consolation. Barely talked all of dinner.' She cleared her throat. 'Look, I'd still love to have you over, if you'd like to come? I promise it'll just be me, Chad, and the kids. No Troy at all.'_

_Gabriella smiled, relieved. 'That'd be great, Taylor. Thank you so much.'_

Gabriella and Anabela had been over at the Danforths' for dinner three times now. Chad was exactly the same as he had been at seventeen, happy, loyal, and full of beans. Their kids, Jake, Jordan and Jesse, were great, with their father's hair and their mother's wide smile. Taylor now called her regularly, and had taken her to Zeke's pastry shop for some of his lemonade cake and coffee more times than Gabriella could count. She had worried for a little while that Taylor would still be angry with Gabriella for leaving so suddenly, with barely a goodbye, but she had only brought that time up once, and had respected Gabriella's mixed emotions about it all. Other than that, they had picked up right where they had left off; talking with the same ease they had managed as teenagers.

Gabriella had thought, back in Boston, that it would be hard, that she'd despise Albuquerque for her memories, but she felt as if she had come home. Everything was familiar, and despite her irrational anxiety about bumping into Troy when she least expected it, she found herself enjoying her time back. Her mother, although gaunt, sick, and too pale from the treatment, was relieved her daughter was back home with her, and Gabriella was making sure that Carmen was as comfortable and felt as loved and unconcerned as possible.

There was a knock on her bedroom door and Gabriella rubbed her eyes. 'Yeah?'

Anabela poked her head around the door; her dark curls swinging around her shoulders. 'I don't care how many times you and Taylor and Chad and Zeke insist that Darbus has gone soft, if you don't hurry up I am certain she'll bust my ass.'

Gabriella laughed, throwing the covers back and giving an involuntary shiver. 'Okay, okay. I'm coming.'

-

Anabela put her books in her locker, watching out of the corner of her eye as the last few people made their way down the hall, on their way to lunch. A couple of cheerleaders passed her by, giggling, and Anabela sighed softly. While the gossip at school had calmed down remarkably after her first day, she had still been on the receiving end of some pretty nasty looks, mainly from the cheerleaders. And she didn't even want to think too hard about what had happened yesterday.

_Just coming out of the lunch line, chilli fries and fruit juice on her tray, chatting to Liv about how mean Senora Adega was, Anabela didn't notice the blonde head belonging to Danielle Roberts walking up determinedly to her. That is, until she was suddenly thrown sideways, upending her lunch all over her shirt. _

_There was silence in the cafeteria, as Liv and Anabela looked down at the ruined top in shock. Danielle threw her hands over her mouth and raised her eyebrows. _

'_Oh, my God!' Liv exclaimed. _

'_I am so sorry,' Danielle gushed, her sincerity a little fake. 'I just tripped!'_

_Anabela tried very hard to keep the tears at bay. She wouldn't cry, not here, in front of everyone. 'It's okay,' she said softly to Danielle. 'It was an accident.'_

'_I hope you have a change of clothes!' Danielle shook her head. 'I wouldn't want to walk around like that for the rest of the day!'_

_Liv threw Danielle a glare that Anabela appreciated, and led her out the cafeteria doors. 'You're lucky,' she said, taking the shocked brunette to her locker. 'I had gym today, so I brought some shorts and a different top. It'll be a little big – it used to be my brother's – but at least you won't have chilli fries down your front the entire day.'_

_Anabela was leaning against the lockers as Liv put in her combination, when Holly and Georgia rushed down the hall. _

'_Are you okay?' Georgia asked, her small face worried._

'_That bitch!' Holly exclaimed, pulling Anabela into a big hug. 'It was a complete act, that entire, 'Oh, I tripped' thing. God. That evil cow. I saw the entire thing, her just flailing her arms and then bump you…' She was too furious to talk. _

_ Anabela just shrugged desperately. 'I don't know what I've done to make her hate me. I don't even know her.'_

_'Danielle's been trying to snag Charlie Bolton for ages now,' Liv reminded her, passing her the oversized white shirt. _

_'Yeah, but Charlie and I are just friends. What is it with this school and freaking out about something like that?' Anabela took her ruined shirt off in disgust, and put Liv's shirt over her head. _

'_They didn't think that he'd stay this interested in you,' Georgia said with a small smile. 'They all thought he'd go back to his group, you'd go back to yours, and they'd get a chance to win him over.'_

'_So, because I refuse to adapt to the cliques and talk to Charlie during homeroom, the entire female student body wants me dead?'_

'_You're exaggerating there, Anabela,' Liv said, rolling up the sleeves of Anabela's shirt. 'They just want you humiliated. And if you keep acting like it doesn't bother you, like you did in there, you'll be fine.'_

'_And we're not the entire female student body,' Holly told her. 'Charlie's cute, but he's not for us. We'll protect you from those cows that call themselves cheerleaders. Don't you worry.'_

_Anabela's eyes filled with tears. 'Thanks, you guys.'_

_Liv touched her gently on the arm, smiling at her appearance. 'Well, no wonder they hate you. How you manage to look hot in my brother's band camp shirt is beyond me.' _

Anabela felt like a coward, but she still didn't want to go down to lunch today. Not just because of the showdown of yesterday, but after the fight she had had with Ethan last night on the phone, she just didn't feel up to it. She had some Chem homework to catch up on; she decided she'd make her way over to the library.

After she had been wandering around for about ten minutes, she realised she had got herself lost.

'You'd think after two weeks you would have worked out where the library was,' she muttered to herself, rolling her eyes. Pouting, she leant her back against one of East High's numerous doors, and let out a squeak of surprise as it swung open behind her.

There were stairs leading up to a bright white light, and Anabela made her way up them hesitantly, her mouth slowly falling open as she took in her surroundings.

There were plants everywhere, thriving in the sunlight. The mountains beyond the school contrasted against the blue sky, and she hummed in delight. Trailing her hand along the railing, she studied the plants closer.

'Wow, it's like a jungle up here,' she murmured to herself.

'Not as big a jungle as the cafeteria,' a voice to her right said.

Anabela jumped, a hand to her heart as she saw Charlie at the opposite railing, smiling.

'God, Charlie, you freaked me out!' she exclaimed, trying to calm her racing heart.

'I'm sorry! I didn't mean to.' He made his way over to her. 'What are you doing up here? I thought that I was the only one who knew about this place.'

Anabela blushed. 'I was leaning against the door and…I'm sorry. Look, I'll just…I'll just go…'

'No!' Charlie's cheeks reddened slightly. 'No,' he repeated, a little less forcefully. 'Stay. I don't mind sharing my secret hiding place with you.'

'Your secret hiding place?' she asked, trying not to fall too deeply into his beautiful blue eyes.

He shrugged. 'Well, yeah. You gotta have somewhere to escape the rest of East High.' He raised one of his eyebrows knowingly. 'Especially after a day like yesterday.'

'You saw that?'

He nodded. 'Look, I know I can't apologise for Danielle, but I'm really sorry.'

She smiled. 'Thanks, Charlie.'

He gestured to an old wooden chair towards the back of the roof. 'Have a seat.'

'Thanks.' She smiled, sat, and gazed around at all the different plants. 'It really is amazing up here. You can see for miles!'

He sat beside her, a small smile tugging the corners of his mouth up. 'I'm glad you like it.' He watched her for a moment, and decided to change the subject. 'So. How are you liking it here in Albuquerque? Apart from Danielle Roberts. I think I already know how you feel about her.'

Anabela laughed, sneaking a quick glance at him. 'Oh, you know. It's nice. But, it's not home.' She shook her head a little, glancing up at the sky. 'I mean, it's fine. There are some really nice people here, and school's not as bad as I thought it was going to be…' She frowned. 'But you're right. Danielle Roberts isn't so great. And neither was the whole East High hottie scandal. That was unexpected and completely unwanted.'

Charlie's brows knitted together in consternation. 'Look, Anabela, I'm really sorry about that. I didn't know that it would've had such a huge impact…'

Anabela smiled. 'I know. You're not that type of guy.' She looked down at her hands. 'Albuquerque is just really different to Boston. I mean, back at home, I had a set place at school. I was completely anonymous. And I liked that. I'm not one for attention.' She shrugged. 'And at home, I was able to see my boyfriend every day. I was able to touch him and see his expressions, instead of trying to decode what he's truly feeling over phone calls. We hardly ever fought. Back at home, it was just Mom and I in our own apartment, not Mom, my grandmother and me.' She shook her head. 'In Boston, Mom would have never run out of a dinner like she did two weeks ago. And back at home, I certainly wouldn't be telling all of this to a stranger.' She managed a weak smile.

'Hey.' Anabela turned to him, watching his face. 'I'm no stranger. I mean, I know that you live with your grandmother, that you used to live in Boston, that you're very good at Maths and Science, like your mother, which is something I found out at that dinner that I think you would've enjoyed if you and your mom had stuck around…' He smiled. 'While I don't know where you live, I know a fair bit about you. And I think you know a fair bit about me.'

Anabela smiled, ticking what she knew off on her fingers. 'You're considered the school god. You're a basketball player. Your dad's your coach. You live two doors down from the Danforths'.'

'Well, there you go.' Charlie smiled. 'I don't think that stranger is the right word. Do you?'

Anabela was talking before she really even realised. 'Do you remember in kindergarten, how you'd meet someone, and know nothing about them, then 10 seconds later you'd be playing like you were best friends, because you didn't have to be anyone but yourself?'

Charlie chuckled. 'Yeah?'

Anabela smiled. 'That's how I feel around you. I don't know much about you, anything about the really important stuff, at all. And you don't really know that much about me, either. But it feels like it doesn't matter. I can just be me around you, just this girl, without any prejudice or expectations about who I am.' She blushed. 'Does that make sense?'

Charlie smiled reassuringly. 'Yeah. It does.' He leaned in a bit closer, and said quietly, 'I'm not the guy everyone thinks I am, either.' He shrugged. 'I mean, I've known some of the guys on the team since I was tiny, but even they tend to get a little too caught up in the whole 'school god' thing. But with you…'

She smiled. 'I know. I know you're not that guy.'

He was looking at her intently, until he grinned cheekily. 'You know what?'

'What?'

'The friends I had in kindergarten were the best I ever had.' He raised his eyebrows at her. 'Do you think we can stop being strangers and just be friends?'

She grinned. 'I thought we already were. Just like kindergarten.'

When she looked into his eyes, she saw they were sparkling. He smiled happily. 'Good.'

She felt she had to add something. 'And Charlie?'

'Yes, Bella?'

She frowned. 'Bella?'

'Anabela's a tiny bit difficult for us kindergarten kids to say, don't you think? Bella's just much easier to say.'

She giggled. 'It's a nickname, Charlie, however you put it.'

'And what, you're against nicknames, or something?'

She shrugged. 'Not exactly. It's just…I don't usually have people calling me nicknames. In Boston I was always just Anabela.'

The bell rang, and Charlie grinned, standing up. 'Hey, there's a first time for everything. Just like kindergarten, remember?' He raised his eyebrows and held out his hand.

She smiled, and slipped her hand into his. 'Okay.' Before he could lead her back down the stairs, she remembered what she had wanted to say. 'Charlie.' He turned back to her, his face earnest. 'Despite the whole rumor thing about you and I…I'm glad it was you I bumped into.'

He laughed. 'Me too, Bella. Me too.'

-

The grass was green and bent slightly beneath her feet as she made her way through the park. The sun was warm and hopeful on her back, and she hummed to herself, listening to the birds singing loudly in their branches. She could see Zeke's shop on the other side of the road, and thought about what she was going to get. A raspberry tart for her mother, a chocolate brownie for Anabela, but what would she get? A piece of his carrot cake? Or a little lemon pie?

She focused on her shoes, seriously debating the pros and cons of each sweet, when she suddenly found herself on the ground, having collided with something tall and hard. She gazed up, squinting in the sunlight, and suddenly lost the ability to talk.

'Gabriella?' the man asked.

'Troy?'

-

**Up next**:

There were so many things Troy wanted to ask. (Why did you leave? Why did we never figure it out? Could we have figured it out? What have you been doing in the twenty years since I last heard from you?) Ever since he had seen her at Taylor and Chad's place, he could not get her and their past out of his mind. And now she was here, with those same dark eyes watching him in that same, curious way. He wanted her to stay with him. He needed her to stay with him. He needed to get their past out in the open, once and for all. And so he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

'Would you like to have a coffee with me?'


	10. I Forgot To Remember To Forget

**A/N**: This is it. The chapter I know you've all been waiting for. The real reason why Troy and Gabriella ended it those twenty years ago, and why there's still so much tension between them. It's a long one – after waiting ten chapters to discover their past, and with that cliffy from last chapter, you guys deserve it. Thanks for sticking in there with me! I hope you enjoy, and please review to tell me what you think about it! Please?

-

**Previously**:

Anabela was talking before she really even realised. 'Do you remember in kindergarten, how you'd meet someone, and know nothing about them, then 10 seconds later you'd be playing like you were best friends, because you didn't have to be anyone but yourself?'

Charlie chuckled. 'Yeah?'

Anabela smiled. 'That's how I feel around you. I don't know much about you, anything about the really important stuff, at all. And you don't really know that much about me, either. But it feels like it doesn't matter. I can just be me around you, just this girl, without any prejudice or expectations about who I am.' She blushed. 'Does that make sense?'

-

Now on to…

**Chapter Ten**

_I Forgot To Remember To Forget_

-

'Gabriella?' He could hardly believe it was her, fallen on the grass, staring up at him, her face suddenly scared.

'Troy?'

She looked exactly the same as she had as a teenager. She was still the petite brunette he had fallen in love with almost immediately, that New Year's Eve so many year's ago now.

'I'm so sorry!' He held out his hand, which, after looking at it for the slightest second, Gabriella took, standing up gracefully. She was blushing as she brushed the dirt off the back of her dress.

They stood in silence, watching each other, too embarrassed to talk. There were so many things Troy wanted to ask. (Why did you leave? Why did we never figure it out? Could we have figured it out? What have you been doing in the twenty years since I last heard from you?) Ever since he had seen her at Taylor and Chad's place, he could not get her and their past out of his mind. And now she was here, with those same dark eyes watching him in that same, curious way. He wanted her to stay with him. He needed her to stay with him. He needed to get their past out in the open, once and for all. And so he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

'Would you like to have a coffee with me?'

She looked surprised, but her face relaxed into a smile. 'That'd be nice, Troy.'

-

'I'm back again, Zeke!' Troy called through the pastry shop door. The chocolate-coloured man smiled at the two of them over the counter.

'Look at this. Just like the old days. Troy and Gabriella coming to beg for some of my baking.'

'Except this time we'll pay,' Gabriella added.

Zeke waved his hands. 'No way. You guys are like family.' Gabriella began to protest, but Zeke was louder than her. 'Just accept and nod, okay? What would you like?'

'Two coffees, please,' Troy said, watching as Gabriella, blushing a little, scanned the numerous goodies in the display.

'You make it so hard to choose, Zeke,' she groaned. 'Do I want the cherry pie or a little pavlova?'

'How about the apple tart?' Zeke offered, pointing to part of the display that Gabriella hadn't noticed.

'Oh, yum. Yes. One of those, please.'

Troy chuckled at her, and pointed at the chocolate cake. 'A slice of that for me, please.'

Zeke nodded, waving to a spare table by the window, overlooking the park. 'Take a seat. They'll be ready in a minute.'

Gabriella took her seat and watched the life in the park. The mothers gossiping, keeping one eye on their young children scrambling over the play equipment. She could remember being one of them, only half listening to the conversation, most of her attention turned to Anabela, gurgling with childish delight as she flew down the slide, made friends climbing the tower, looked around in surprise as she fell off the balance beam. Gabriella had been fascinated by everything Anabela said or did, and while she cherished how close they were now, sometimes she wished she could see that same innocent pleasure on her daughter's face.

She turned her face back to Troy as he cleared his throat, and smiled uncertainly at him.

'I don't really know what to say,' he said quietly, a red tinge appearing on his cheeks.

Her smile became a little softer. 'I don't know what to say either. We've got twenty years to catch up on. It's not exactly something that can be explained over coffee.'

Troy shrugged. 'I'm willing to try. What have you been doing since I saw you last?'

She let out a little laugh. 'That's a pretty big question, Troy. Want to narrow it down a little?'

He grinned. 'Okay, okay. First. Was that your daughter at Taylor and Chad's?'

Gabriella nodded. 'Her name's Anabela. She turning seventeen next March.'

'She looks exactly like you,' Troy said.

Gabriella giggled. 'I always joked that her dad mustn't have very strong genes. There's hardly any of him in her at all.'

'And her dad would be…?' Gabriella paused a little, and Troy backtracked. 'If that's okay, I mean…'

Gabriella smiled reassuringly, nodding in thanks to Zeke as he brought over the sweets and coffee. 'No, it's fine. Her father's a man called Neil. We met at university. He was studying to be a lawyer, and I was doing medicine. He was charming and kind and very lovely. The first few years were great, but later he got an important job at a law firm, and his whole life began to revolve around work.' She shrugged, picking at her pastry. 'Anabela came along and it was like being a single parent. I was struggling to keep my job and look after her as much as I could…Mom came up around that time and took over the mothering duties for a while. I felt guilty, like I wasn't being a good mother or wife.' Gabriella sighed. 'It just fell apart after that. We were fighting constantly, and we mutually decided it wasn't going to work out anymore. So he left.'

Troy blinked. 'Wow. I'm sorry, Gabriella…'

She smiled. 'It's fine. We get on okay now, and Anabela still speaks to him on the phone every week, and sees him when he comes to Boston. She's been to his place in California a couple of times. He happily remarried, with a daughter and another baby on the way.'

Troy opened his mouth to ask another question, but Gabriella beat him to it. 'You asked me one, now I get to ask you one.' She smiled. 'Charlie is your son?'

Troy laughed. 'I thought that would've been obvious.'

Gabriella grinned. 'Well, yeah. He looks exactly as you did when you were seventeen.'

He shrugged, smiling. 'Mom was just glad he got my eyes.'

'I'm sure all the girls are too,' Gabriella said cheekily.

'Well, they reeled you in!' he said, his smile teasing.

'Your eyes and other things,' she said, giving him a look that conveyed so much Troy had to look away, down to his coffee, growing cold in the air conditioned room.

'What happened to us, Gabi?' he asked quietly. She tried to ignore the curl of excitement in her belly she remembered experiencing as a teenager whenever Troy used his nickname for her. 'Being with you…it feels like no time has passed between us at all.' He looked up; her head was bowed, and her fingers were playing with a sugar packet. 'I can remember that time around graduation so clearly. It was like one minute we had our future planned out together, the next you were gone and all we had envisaged was in ruins.'

'I know.' Her voice was quiet. 'I'm sorry, Troy. I know it was all my fault.'

'It takes two to make a relationship,' he said. 'It was as much my fault as yours.'

-

_Twenty years earlier_…

Troy opened his front door to see his girlfriend standing on the porch, beaming. He knew straight away.

'You got in!'

She nodded, and he lunged for her, picking her up in his arms easily and twirled her around, making her laugh in delight.

'Oh, Gabi, that's great!' He let her down and pulled her in for a kiss, trying to convey all the pride and happiness her felt for her in the way his mouth moved over hers, the way he embraced her as if she was the most precious thing he had ever held.

They pulled away for air, and she rested her head on his chest. He buried his face in her hair, smelling the sweetness that in part came from her strawberry shampoo but also from her, her distinctive scent that he could never get enough of.

'So, Harvard, huh.'

She giggled. 'Yep. I never thought I'd get in. I thought it would be UNM with you and Chad and Taylor and everyone. Which I was so excited about.'

'You can't turn this down, Gabi,' he murmured into her hair. 'This is Harvard we're talking about.'

'I know it is.' She pulled away from him, leading him to his mother's love seat that had taken up residence on the front porch when he was twelve. She sat down, and looked at him intently. 'I just want to be sure about it, is all.'

'Gabi, we've talked about this…'

'I need to talk about it again, Troy.' Her face was now unsure, after being so full of light and happiness just seconds ago. 'Harvard's a long way away. You'll be down here, playing basketball with the guys, with all of our friends, and I'll be miles away, doing medicine.'

'You can't give up your dream, Gabriella.' He wanted to reassure her, to make those frown lines that had appeared between her brows disappear. 'You've wanted to go to Harvard since you were tiny. You have to do this.'

'But _you_ weren't part of the plan when I was tiny, Troy.' He was horrified to see that tears had appeared in her eyes. 'Since I met you, everything that I had planned, with Harvard, with everything, it all doesn't matter as much. You matter to me, and I want to be with you. I can just as easily do medicine here.'

'You don't think we can't handle you being far away?'

She shrugged, and he could see how hard she was trying not to let the tears fall. 'Long distance relationships haven't exactly got the greatest track record, Troy. We're going strong now, but we've only been together for a year and a half. I know that's a long time for people our age, but…' She took a deep breath. 'I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, but I don't want to make it harder on either of us by moving away.'

'Oh, Gabi.' It had been nine months since he had first admitted that he loved her, but he still was amazed every time she said those three little words. And now, when both of them were at the edge of an unknown future together, to hear her tell him that, in her sure, matter-of-fact way, Troy felt too full with emotion. He pulled her to him and hugged her tightly. 'I wouldn't tell you to go if I didn't think we could handle it. I love you. I can't picture spending my life with anyone but you. You're the most important person in the world to me.' She began to cry, making a wet patch form on his shirt. 'And I know it'll be hard, but I want to make it work. I know that _you_ want to go, and that means _I_ want you to go too.' He stroked her hair, kissed the crown of her head. 'We'll make this work. There's the phone. Email. Many hours that I will spend in my old truck travelling to see you, even if it is just for one night, a couple of hours, mere minutes…'

She gave a wet giggle, and lifted her head to face him. Even with bloodshot eyes, pink cheeks, and a runny nose, Troy still thought she was perfect.

'You're sure?'

'I've never been so certain of anything in my entire life.' He kissed her gently. 'I love you, Gabriella.'

Gabriella was reassured by his words, but when her mother brought up Troy and Gabriella's relationship a month later, when Gabriella was packing to leave for Harvard, the brunette began to feel uncertain.

'How have you and Troy figured out the distance?' Carmen asked, labelling the boxes Gabriella was packing up.

Gabriella shrugged. 'He says we'll make it work. He'll come up on the weekends when he can, we'll talk over the phone, email each other, and there are always the holidays.' She smiled at her mother. 'He seems really sure about it all.'

Her mother bit her lip, and looked down at her hands. 'I love Troy like a son, Gabriella, you know that, and I think he's a wonderful boy. But the two of you are very young. It's difficult, being so far away from each other. Is it fair on either of you to deal with the problems of a long distance relationship?'

Gabriella frowned. 'I love him. He loves me. He told me we'd work it out.'

Carmen still looked uncertain. 'I'm just a little worried about the pressure of something like this. I know you two care for each other deeply, but…'

Gabriella began to feel uncertain herself. 'But what?'

'It's a big ask, for you two to keep the relationship going. I just want you to think about what you're asking of him, asking of yourself.'

Gabriella knew that she and Troy were more serious than any other couple their age, and that they loved each other dearly. But her mother's words made her unsure; the more she thought about it, the more certain she became that it was too much to ask. Troy couldn't be asked to live half his life in Albuquerque, where his passion for basketball thrived, and the other half in Boston, where she would be.

She didn't want to do it, she spent nights trying to find a way around it all, hours crying at her desperation, but her decision was already made. She would have to end it.

The week before she left, she and Troy met at the basketball courts in the park. She was nervous, twisting her hands in her skirt. He could tell that something was up from the minute he laid eyes on her.

'Are you okay?'

She shrugged. 'Um, yes and no.' She took a deep breath. 'We've got to talk, Troy.'

'About what?' He was frowning.

'About me going away.'

'What about it?'

She swallowed, hard. 'I love you, Troy, but I can't ask you to spend so much of your time seeing me, travelling up to Boston…Your life is here, in Albuquerque. And mine is in Boston. It's not fair on either of us to live half a life, always thinking about the other, what they're doing, missing them, wondering what they're doing, trusting them to remain faithful through the years…'

'Gabi. You can't be serious.' His face was shocked, upset, hurt. 'What are you saying? You want to end this? End us?'

She willed the tears not to fall. 'It's impossible, Troy. I don't want you to be giving up your life for me. I can't ask you to do that. But that's what you'd be doing, if we tried to do the long distance thing.'

'No, I wouldn't.'

'Yes, you would. You'd be splitting up your life. There'll be games to play, but you'll be either feeling guilty about having to miss them to see me, or feeling guilty about not seeing me so that you could play. There'll be group outings that you won't be able to go to because you'll have to come up and see me.' She hung her head. 'You'll end up despising me for it. I don't want that.'

'I won't. I promise I won't.' He longed to push back her hair, so that he could read her expression. 'Gabi, I love you. We belong together. We can work it out.'

She shook her head, looking back up at him, the tears falling freely now. 'I gotta go my own way, Troy, and you yours. We can't do this to each other. It isn't fair.'

Troy shook his head. 'No, Gabi. I love you. And I won't let you do this.' He pulled her into a rough hug, and she sobbed into his shirt, trying to capture in her memory the feel of his arms holding her, the hurt she felt inside as she realised he was crying too, the shiver she felt when his lips pressed against her hair.

Forcing her chin up, Troy pressed his lips to hers, trying desperately to make her stay. But even as Gabriella ravaged his mouth with tragic hunger, she knew that their relationship was lying in broken pieces around their feet, sparkling maliciously in the afternoon sunlight.

Squeezing her eyes tight, knowing this was the hardest thing she would ever have to do, she pulled herself from his grasp and took several steps back, so her couldn't reach her. There were tears running down his cheeks, and she tried not to notice that it made his eyes seem even bluer. Was she really doing the right thing? How could she possibly leave this boy, this man, like this?

'Bye, Troy,' she said softly, and, after one last look into his heartbreakingly despairing cobalt eyes, she turned away.

-

'I was so uncertain about it all,' Gabriella told him, not wanting to meet those eyes she remembered so well, choosing instead to look at her empty coffee mug. 'You and I…we were so serious about each other. And while I desperately wanted to keep what we had, I knew that we'd end up hating each other with the pressure of that distance.'

He nodded. 'That's what would have happened. I don't blame you, Gabriella.' At her small smile, he pressed on. 'I wanted to go after you. I wanted to follow you up to Boston. For a while I had this ridiculous idea in my head that I'd sit on your doorstep, in all weather, no matter what happened, just waiting for you to let me in, so we could figure it out.'

She smiled. 'Why didn't you?'

He shrugged. 'I didn't think you wanted me to.'

Gabriella sighed. 'Do you want to know the truth?'

'It _was_ twenty years ago, Gabriella.'

'I know. And it seems ridiculous for it to still feel this raw, right?'

Troy had thought he had been the idiot, thinking about her years after she'd left, and although so much had happened in these twenty years, he had been surprised at the intensity of emotions that had hit him when he first laid eyes on her. Shock and a little bit of pleasure, but then also hurt. He knew they had both believed they would never see each other again. 'It's not ridiculous at all,' he said quietly, catching her eyes.

She bit her lip. 'Well, in that case, I did want you to come. I was the damsel in distress and I wanted a knight to save me. But it was unreasonable of me to want you like that. It wasn't fair.' She shrugged. 'In the end I just had to move on.'

'And you didn't keep in contact with any of us?'

She looked up at him apologetically. 'No. It was too hard.'

'Taylor was inconsolable.' He didn't want her to feel guilty; he just wanted to lay down the facts. 'Everyone couldn't understand why you'd cut ties with them all, leaving with barely a goodbye.'

Gabriella sighed. 'It all reminded me of you, Troy. If they weren't asking why the two of us couldn't make it work, they'd be talking about something we'd all done together, or what you'd been doing…And I couldn't bear it. The only Wildcat I've kept in contact with all these years is Ryan.' She thought she could see a little spark of the same jealousy Troy had harboured for the blond boy as a teenager, but she dismissed it. 'And that was only because he kept hounding me until I sat down and listened to what he had to say. And I'm glad I did. He's my best friend, and means the world to me.'

Troy chuckled. 'I always thought that something might happen between the two of you…'

Gabriella looked at him, not sure she understood where he was going. 'Sorry?'

Troy shrugged. 'When I was younger, and still a little uncertain about where we stood with each other, I was positive that something would happen with the two of you when you were older. That it'd be the two of you having kids together, that kind of thing.'

Gabriella laughed out loud. 'Ryan and I? Nah. He's gay, Troy.'

Troy stared at her, which made her laugh harder. 'What?'

'He likes guys,' she said, spelling it out for him. 'I thought everyone knew that.'

Troy looked astounded. 'I feel like an idiot.'

Gabriella giggled. 'There's been nothing other than friendship between Ryan and I. Although he's been more of a father to Anabela than Neil ever was, so I guess you were right about that part.'

'I'm sorry.' Troy bit his lip. 'For thinking all that time that there was something between the two of you…'

Gabriella smiled, and reached for his hand across the table, giving it a quick squeeze. 'It's okay, Troy. Anyone could've made the mistake. He lived with me in Boston for a little while, when Anabela was five and Neil had just moved out. To help me get back on my feet, you know? Anyway, after he moved back out, a couple of years later, a woman in my apartment told me she thought Ryan had been the reason why Neil and I divorced.' She giggled, pulling her hand away from his to push her hair back from her face. 'Ryan laughed so hard at that.'

'How is he?' Troy asked. Despite holding a grudge at how easily Ryan could make Gabriella laugh, Troy truly liked the guy, and was curious as to how he had been doing these past few years.

Gabriella smiled. 'He's great. He's working on Broadway now, directing musicals. Sharpay's really resentful about it. I think she always thought she'd be the successful one, but there Ryan is, adored by everyone he works with, while she's a lowly actress still trying to make it big.'

'That's what you call karma, I guess,' Troy said, grinning.

'Ah-huh. It's a bitch.' She smiled at him. 'Hey, you've heard all about my failed marriage now, whereas I don't even know who Charlie's mom is.'

The blue-eyed man's face fell a little. 'Her name was Kate. Kate Foreman.'

Gabriella swallowed. 'Was?'

Troy nodded. 'She died nine years ago.'

Gabriella didn't hesitate. She took his hand again, her face grave. 'Oh, Troy. I'm so sorry for being so glib.'

He smiled softly. 'Don't worry about it. It was a long time ago.'

'How did you meet?'

'She was a nurse. When you left, things were kind of difficult. The only thing I felt I knew was basketball. And it was a huge release, chucking the ball around and just forgetting about everything to do with you and why you'd left.' He smiled. 'I worked myself too hard. I did everything to get to the top, and I got there.'

'I always knew you'd make it big,' Gabriella declared proudly.

Troy laughed. 'Well, thanks. Anyway, one practise I injured my knee a little, and insisted on playing that night.' He chuckled. 'It was the biggest mistake and also one of the best things that ever happened to me. I had to get my knee reconstructed and everything, but if I hadn't been injured I wouldn't have met Kate.'

Gabriella smiled. 'So that's why you're coaching the Wildcats now? Because you got injured?'

He nodded. 'I got to play another season or two, but then I had to get out of there. Kate helped me through all of that, and got me excited about coaching. I still do training camps and stuff, but it's mainly the Wildcats now.'

Gabriella knew she was delving into difficult territory here, but she couldn't help herself. 'What happened to Kate?'

Troy picked up his spoon, spinning it in his hands. 'She got breast cancer. She was only twenty-eight. Charlie was six. The doctors thought she'd be fine; she received all the treatment, ate the best she could, kept up her physical activity.' Troy placed the spoon back on the table. 'During one of her check-ups they spotted something that shouldn't have been there. Two years later the cancer had spread to her brain, and four weeks after that she was gone.'

Gabriella knew her own eyes were filling with tears. 'I'm so sorry, Troy.'

He nodded. 'Me too.'

She looked down at the table. 'I can't even comprehend losing someone that close to you…It's so unfair! You and Charlie were both so young…'

Troy smiled sadly. 'Yeah.' He looked out the window. 'Charlie's kept me going. He's not like other guys his age. He's a little more mature, more sensitive…I know he must think it's unusual, for us to be so close, but after Kate…'

Gabriella stared down at her lap, pondering the tragic life of the man in front of her, too sad to speak. Troy seemed to sense this, and shook his hair from his eyes, clearing his throat, blocked a little from sorrow.

'I'm sorry for being so miserable, Gabi…'

She shook her head. 'Don't ever apologise for something like that, Troy.' She glanced up at him, and he realised her own eyes were full of tears. 'Do you know why I came back? Why I returned to Albuquerque?'

He shook his head wordlessly.

'My mom. She has breast cancer.'

His eyes widened. 'Your mom? Carmen? Breast cancer?'

Gabriella nodded, her mouth set in a grim line. 'I'm 37 years old and the thought of losing her scares me shitless, Troy. But I can't even begin to imagine what it would've been like to have lost Kate, thinking that you had the rest of your lives together…' A tear fell and she wiped at her eyes furiously, angry to have gotten so upset.

Troy reached for her hand, stroking her skin with the pad of his thumb. It felt so familiar, his skin so smooth despite all the years of basketball, and Gabriella could feel herself begin to calm.

'Don't think that your situation is any less important, Gabriella. She's your mom. But you're not going to lose her. She'll be just fine.' He smiled. 'This is Carmen we're talking about. Carmen Montez, who is both the loveliest and scariest woman I have ever met in my entire life.'

Gabriella let out a watery giggle, knowing instinctively he was remembering the time when Carmen had accidentally walked in on Gabriella and Troy barely dressed, making out. If she remembered rightly, Troy hadn't come over to her house for months after that.

'She'll be fine,' he repeated, looking into her eyes. There was so much certainty behind them that Gabriella could feel her insecurity melt away.

'Thanks, Troy,' she whispered, squeezing his hand. She noticed her watch, and did a double-take as she realised the time. 'Oh, no! I was supposed to be back home an hour ago!'

Troy handed her a napkin to wipe her face with as she rummaged in her bag for her phone. Sure enough, there was a text from Carmen.

_You coming home any time in the next century? I'll bake my own brownies if you don't hurry up! Xx._

Gabriella laughed, and looked at Troy apologetically. 'I'm sorry. I really have to go.'

He nodded. 'Sure. I understand.'

She put her bag over her shoulder, and she smiled. 'I really enjoyed talking to you again, Troy. It was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be.'

He raised his eyebrows cheekily. 'Just like kindergarten, right?'

She grinned happily, surprised and delighted that he remembered their old phrase. 'Exactly like kindergarten.'

'We should do it again sometime,' Troy said, and Gabriella nodded.

'That'd be nice.' She stood up, slinging her bag over her shoulder. 'Well, you know my number.'

He nodded. 'I do.'

'Okay.' She was blushing a little. 'Bye, Troy.'

'Bye, Gabriella.'

-

**Up next**:

How could she be thinking so much about Troy, when there was so much going on in her life right now? She was trying to help her mother, make sure that Anabela was okay…

But he was still so gorgeous. That body, that smile, those eyes…He could still make her melt with a simple grin.

Gabriella groaned, pulling her pillow over her eyes. She was going to have a hard time getting to sleep tonight.


	11. A Hard Day's Night

**A/N**: Thanks for all the lovely reviews of last chapter! I've reached 60! Woot! Glad that the history between Troy and Gabriella lived up to expectations. Thanks especially to _YaDoDOBird_, who wrote such a wonderful and inspiring message!

To clear things up: this will be a Troyella fic, but it will also be a Charlie/Anabela story too. This is not incest at all – Charlie and Anabela have different parents, but I do understand how you guys could think it'd be a little weird. I am going to address this weirdness later on in the story, but my main aim of this story was to show how history could repeat itself for Troy and Anabela's children. And history will repeat itself, in a slightly different way. I hope that this doesn't stop anyone from reading or reviewing – trust me, it will all figure itself out in the end.

This is a shorter chapter than usual – after the length of last chapter I needed a little filler. However, there's lots of lovely Charlie/Anabela fluff in the next chapter, so bear with me! Please review!

-

**Previously**:

There were so many things Troy wanted to ask. (Why did you leave? Why did we never figure it out? Could we have figured it out? What have you been doing in the twenty years since I last heard from you?) Ever since he had seen her at Taylor and Chad's place, he could not get her and their past out of his mind. And now she was here, with those same dark eyes watching him in that same, curious way. He wanted her to stay with him. He needed her to stay with him. He needed to get their past out in the open, once and for all. And so he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

'Would you like to have a coffee with me?'

-

Now on to…

**Chapter Eleven**

_A Hard Day's Night_

-

It had been easy to hate her. Before today, he was able to keep his thoughts solely on how she had left him: broken-hearted. He was able to forget about her because of his anger at the unfairness of their situation.

But all that had flown outside of the window when he had bumped into her today. How could he hate her? It was _Gabriella_. Even when he was at his most furious with her, dropping plates so he could feel the satisfaction of the crash, working himself until he literally collapsed, there was a space in his heart that could and would never stay angry with her. There had been too much love between them before she left.

To hear her talk about the past, the reason for why she left…

'_I was so uncertain about it all,' Gabriella told him, not looking at him, choosing instead to look at her empty coffee mug. 'You and I…we were so serious about each other. And while I desperately wanted to keep what we had, I knew that we'd end up hating each other with the pressure of that distance.'_

He had been telling himself that same argument ever since she left him, but it was only this afternoon, watching her so uncertain, still so caught up in the past, that he knew she was speaking the truth. And he had realised that somewhere, in between bumping into her and hearing all about her life, he had forgiven her.

How could he still be so attracted to her? It had been twenty years since he had seen her, and she was still the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. Kate had been pretty, with auburn hair and dark blue eyes, but she had never been as gorgeous as Troy had believed (and obviously from his current thoughts, _still_ believed) Gabriella was.

He felt guilty, comparing Kate and Gabriella. He had loved Kate, and felt like he was betraying her memory, spending so much time thinking about his high school sweetheart. He knew it had been nine years since she had died (Chad reiterated this fact constantly), but he still felt a little fragile about it all. Kate had been the only woman he had loved more than Gabriella. She had been the first girl he had even paid attention to after Gabriella. And now, to treat her like this…

He groaned, pulling his pillow over his eyes. He was going to have a hard time getting to sleep tonight.

-

It was really too early to go to bed. But Gabriella couldn't pretend like nothing was wrong. She had made the dinner, listened as Anabela and Carmen talked as they ate, and then claimed a headache. Anabela had offered to wash up, and Gabriella managed to be in bed by nine pm.

She just couldn't get Troy out of her mind. Since bumping into him today and talking for a full hour and a half, she had not been able to forget about him or his tragic past. To have had to deal with his wife dying at such a young age, leaving a tiny son to take care of alone…

But that wasn't all that was bothering her. It was more the way they spoke about the past; she thought that he would have forgotten about what had happen. But he seemed to have dealt with it the same way she had – never really forgetting about that short time when they could call themselves a couple.

She had been surprised at how quickly her unease ebbed away as she and Troy spoke about the past. It was if, by letting it all out, they were healing the wounds that had grown so deep over the years. She could feel herself forgiving him, forgiving herself, and felt ready to start a new relationship with him, one where they could look back at what had happened and move on.

She shook her head. How could she be thinking so much about Troy, when there was so much going on in her life right now? She was trying to help her mother, make sure that Anabela was okay…

But he was still so gorgeous. That body, that smile, those eyes…He could still make her melt with a simple grin.

Gabriella groaned, pulling her pillow over her eyes. She was going to have a hard time getting to sleep tonight.

-

'Hi!'

'Oh, hey, Anabela.'

She frowned. Every time she called Ethan he seemed to get even more distant and peculiar. She knew she would never be able to truly know his feelings over the phone, and that made her upset.

'How are you?'

'Okay, I guess. You?'

'Okay too. What are you doing?'

'Homework. Which I should probably get back to.'

'Oh.' Anabela frowned. 'But I only just called you…'

He sighed. 'I know. I'm sorry.'

'Are you okay, Ethan?'

'Yes.'

She knew she had to be assertive. 'You don't sound it.'

She could tell just from his breathing he was angry. 'I'm just not sure if this is working, Anabela.'

She swallowed the lump in her throat. 'You don't mean that, Ethan. You really don't.'

'You don't have any say over what I mean, Anabela.' He seemed to sense her hurt from her prolonged pause. 'Anabela, I'm sorry.' He sighed again, this time a little impatiently. 'Look, I know that our relationship has been reduced to simple conversations over the phone, and I know that it's hard. But I can't really think or talk about it now, okay?'

She nodded, her voice quiet. 'Okay.'

'I have to go, Anabela. I'm sorry, but I just have a lot of stuff due in tomorrow and it's really only the beginning of school. I don't want to get behind or anything.'

'Sure.'

'I'll call you tomorrow. Bye.'

She was about to reply, but he had already hung up. Anabela couldn't help the tears that came into her eyes. Why was he being so weird? She wanted to badly to go back to Boston. Not just to see Ethan, so she could kiss him and hear his voice in real life, or so she could see her friends, but for her apartment and her old bed and her neighbourhood and the ice cream van on the end of her street that had been empty ever since she could remember…

The tears started to fall, and Anabela cried into her pillow, trying to muffle the sound. She didn't want anyone to come in and demand to know what the matter was.

She felt so confused. It was hard enough, watching her grandmother in such discomfort from the therapy she was receiving, becoming thinner and less like her old self. Gabriella had warned her that Carmen's hair would begin to fall out, and that there was a possibility that it grow back a different colour or hair type than she had currently. Anabela didn't even want to think about it, despite Carmen joking about how she was wishing it would grow back sleek and black, rather than frizzy and grey. But then to have Ethan, who she had believed she could rely on to help her through this, start to become distant…

And it wasn't only Ethan. Her girlfriends too seemed to be fading away into their lives without her. None of them had emailed recently, not even Amy, her closest friend in Boston. It seemed like they had forgotten about her, although she was trying in vain to keep in contact with them.

She didn't feel at home here. So many things were still foreign to her. This house was unfamiliar. She couldn't complain about school, or the people she was sitting with, but it wasn't like back at home.

Yet Boston wasn't home anymore. She hadn't been gone for very long, but already her ties were falling apart. How was she supposed to reconcile two completely different lives if she didn't have anyone helping her along, wanting to keep her in their lives?

She cried harder. She had known it was going to be complicated, moving away. But she has trusted in Ethan and her friend to keep her up to date with what they were doing. She had never expected them to act like this. Which made it all the more complex.

Anabela buried her face in her pillow, the tears still falling. She was going to have a hard time getting any sleep tonight.

-

**Up next**:

Liv clapped her hands in sudden excitement. 'Oh, my God, guys, you should totally put yourselves down for the Talent Show.'

Anabela's grin wiped itself from her face. 'What did you just say?'

'You should go for the Talent Show. You guys are so great together, your voices harmonize really well, you've got a song to sing now…it'd be great!'

'It'd be awful!' Anabela exclaimed. 'No way, no how!'


	12. You Really Got A Hold On Me

**A/N**: A little bit of Charlie/Anabela goodness. As always, please review. Feedback keeps me writing and updating faster, so if you do want me to continue this story, tell me!

-

**Previously**:

How could she be thinking so much about Troy, when there was so much going on in her life right now? She was trying to help her mother, make sure that Anabela was okay…

But he was still so gorgeous. That body, that smile, those eyes…He could still make her melt with a simple grin.

Gabriella groaned, pulling her pillow over her eyes. She was going to have a hard time getting to sleep tonight.

-

Now on to…

**Chapter Twelve**

_You Really Got A Hold On Me_

-

'_I'm just not sure if this is working.'_

_'You don't mean that, Ethan. You really don't.'_

Ignoring Mrs Darbus, Anabela let her head fall onto the table with a soft thump. She couldn't get Ethan's voice from out of her head. He had been so negative last night over the phone. Why would a guy who had promised her they could make the long distance thing work give up so soon, so easily? She felt lost and very lonely.

There was a funny prickling at her elbow, and she lifted her head up to see a piece of paper folded beside her. Lifting her head to make sure that Darbus' eyes were tightly closed in an emotional tale of her college days in the theatre, Anabela opened the paper carefully.

_Are you OK? Throwing your head on the table is never a good sign._ It was Charlie's loopy scrawl.

She smiled at the boy beside her. He flicked his gaze to her and grinned back, miming snoring at Darbus' story. She giggled and picked up her pen to reply.

_I'm okay. Just didn't have such a great night._

She waited until Darbus had gathered her thoughts and was writing something on the board to pass it back to Charlie.

_Boyfriend troubles?_ He quickly wrote back. She had told him a little about Ethan, and the difficulties she was having in regards to the many miles between them.

_Yes. This long distance thing is really hard. I don't know if he thinks there's an 'us' anymore, with me so far away. I'm very confused._

_He's an idiot if he doesn't think you're worth it_ was Charlie's reply.

_You're so sweet_, she was beginning to write back, when the bell rang.

'You're such a charmer,' she told him, as she packed her books into her bag. 'No wonder Danielle Roberts is lusting after you.'

He made a face and she laughed at him, until she noticed Liv waving at her from the doorway.

'You have a free during third period, right?' she asked when Anabela and Charlie made their way over to her.

'Yeah. Why?'

Liv waved the matter away with her hand. 'No reason. We just have to study together, that's all. Is that all right?'

Anabela smiled at her friend's slightly odd behaviour. 'Of course.'

Liv grinned. 'Great. I'll see you then. For now, it's off to Physics. Kill me now!'

Anabela and Charlie just laughed at her.

-

'Liv, this isn't the way to the library.'

Liv smiled evilly. 'No, it's not.'

'But you said we were going to study…'

'Well, we are. Just not what you're used to studying. We'll be studying the voice and its many uses, particularly in regards to the art of singing.'

'Oh, no, Liv…'

The redhead held tightly onto her wrist and pushed her into the auditorium. 'Come on, Anabela. You know you want to…'

Anabela struggled in Liv's surprisingly strong grip. 'I most certainly do not. Let me go back to the library, Liv, where I belong!'

Liv shook her head and pushed the brunette up the stairs to the stage. 'Well, I'm not going to know that you don't belong here unless you sing, okay? Please, Anabela? It's a great song. Nice, slow, easy. You'll like it. I just need someone to sing to it. Please please please?'

Liv's eyes were big, green, and pleading, and Anabela decided that she would blame them for giving in. 'Fine. But I'm only singing it once. And you have to know that I really, really, really don't want to do this.'

'Don't want to do what?' came a voice from the auditorium doors. Anabela looked up, watching Charlie make his way down the aisle.

'She's trying to make me sing, Charlie,' Anabela whined. 'Make her stop.'

Liv stomped her foot, crossing her arms. 'No.'

Charlie laughed. 'Did you just stomp your foot?'

Liv frowned. 'Maybe.' She looked a little embarrassed, and then said, 'Charlie, you know that I'm good at discovering people. Hell, I was the one that realised you could sing!'

Anabela looked at Charlie. 'What?'

'I performed in Darbus' production of _Twinkle Towne_ when I was twelve.' Anabela raised her eyebrows, a smile beginning to spread across her face. 'Don't laugh. It wasn't my idea. It was her.' He pointed at Liv, a mock-glare on his face.

Liv smiled proudly. 'I told him I was practising for the auditions, and he agreed to sing for me, to help me play with someone singing. And Mrs Darbus heard him, and cast him immediately as the lead, Arnold.' She grinned cheekily at Charlie. 'He was great, Anabela. I have a DVD of it somewhere. It's hilarious.'

'You're not showing that to her!' Charlie exclaimed. 'She'll never look at me the same way again!'

Anabela giggled. 'I think that's too late.'

Charlie sighed. 'Well, now you know my secret. What's yours?'

Anabela leaned over to him, and whispered conspiratorially, 'I'm currently thinking of the many ways I could torture Liv and thus not have to sing.'

Charlie laughed. 'Why don't you want to sing?'

Anabela shook her head at him. 'Me, singing, stages, and people do not mix. I have terrible stage fright. And I can't have people staring at me. I really can't.'

'I think we realised that from your infamous cafeteria experiences,' Liv said dryly.

Anabela's face was set. 'And you're forgetting one major flaw of your plan, Liv. I can't sing.'

Liv opened her mouth to contradict her, but Charlie spoke before she managed to say anything. 'Is this really important to you, Liv?'

Liv nodded. 'Yes. I want to know what this song would sound like with someone singing along. It's nice. I'm thinking of playing it for the Talent Show at the end of the term.'

Charlie shrugged. 'Well, I'll sing it with you, Bella, if you want. That way Liv still gets to hear you, and the pressure's not all on you.'

Anabela smiled. 'Huh. That could be a possibility.' Her eyes sparkled cheekily as she looked at Charlie. He held out his hand for her to take.

'Let's do this thing, baby!'

Anabela laughed, but slipped her hand in his. She ignored the tingle that went down her spine as he squeezed her small hand and smiled at her. 'You are such a dork, Charlie Bolton.'

'It's why you love me,' he said, batting his eyelashes at her. He turned to Liv. 'So, what is this song?'

Liv waved a piece of paper, and took a pencil out of her pocket. 'Hold on a second…this'll be really good as a duet. Hold on two seconds…' She scribbled some notes on the side of the lyrics, and then handed them a sheet of paper. 'It's called 'Start of Something New'.'

Anabela laughed as she looked at the lyrics. 'Liv, you were totally lying when you said it was only a little corny. This is bordering on the edge of terrible!'

'Yeah, well, it was written a good twenty years ago.' Liv sat down at the piano and played a couple of keys to warm up. 'This is basically what it sounds like…' She played a couple of bars, humming the basic melody, and Anabela and Charlie nodded, each holding one side of the paper.

'So, you start, Charlie,' Liv said, starting up the beginning bars. Charlie grinned at Anabela, and started to sing.

_Living in my own world_

_Didn't understand_

_That anything can happen_

_When you take a chance_

Anabela, butterflies in her stomach, gulped and started her part, looking steadily down at the paper and not at the other two at all.

_I never believed in_

_What I couldn't see_

_I never opened my heart _

_To all the possibilities_

Charlie raised his eyebrows at Liv at the light purity of Anabela's voice, grinning as the piano player beamed. He joined in with the brunette to croon,

_I know _

Anabela felt the color rise in her cheeks as she sang,

_That something has changed_

Charlie sang with her,

_Never felt this way_

Anabela continued alone, letting her hair fall forward to hide her blush.

_And right here tonight_

_This could be the start_

_Of something new_

_It feels so right_

Liv grinned, nodding along in time as the two sang together.

_To be here with you_

_And now looking in your eyes_

Anabela sang softly, peering through her dark curls to look at Charlie.

_I feel in my heart_

'Feel in my heart,' Charlie hummed, causing Anabela to giggle through the next few lines as they sang,

_The start of something new_

Charlie smiled at Anabela, singing his part,

_Now who'd of ever thought that_

Anabela leaned in a little more as they sang,

_We'd both be here tonight_

And then sang by herself, shaking her hair back a little so she could see the paper more clearly,

_And the world looks so much brighter_

Charlie smiled as together they sang,

_With you by my side_

_I know that something has changed_

_Never felt this way_

Anabela began to get into it, tapping her fingers on the piano to the beat as she sang,

_I know it for real_

The two were grinning as they sang together,

_This could be the start_

_Of something new_

_It feels so right_

_To be here with you_

_And now looking in your eyes_

_I feel in my heart_

Anabela smiled, hardly feeling embarrassed now, watching Liv's hands run up and down the piano, singing,

_The start of something new_

Charlie tapped out the beat on the piano top as his part came again,

_I never knew that it could happen_

_Till it happened to me_

Anabela sang with him,

_I didn't know it before _

She looked up at him as she sang alone,

_But now it's easy to see_

Charlie bopped his head as he joined in,

_It's a start _

_Of something new_

_It feels so right_

_To be here with you_

_And now looking in your eyes_

_I feel in my heart_

_That it's the start _

_Of something new_

_It feels so right _

Anabela smiled confidently at Charlie, trying not to giggle, singing her part,

_To be here with you_

They leaned in together, singing,

_And now looking in your eyes_

Charlie was grinning as Anabela sang,

_I feel in my heart_

_The start of something new_

He sang loudly,

_The start of something new_

And they leant in one last time, sharing a secret smile, to sing,

_Start of something new_

Liv finished off the song with a flourish of her hands, and began to clap. 'You guys were so good!' she exclaimed. 'Anabela, I knew I was right about you. You're a right little American Idol!'

Anabela frowned, puzzled, and Liv explained, 'It was an old TV show. Never mind.'

Charlie elbowed Anabela. 'She's right, you know, Bella. You were really good.'

'Thanks.' She grinned. 'You weren't too bad yourself, Arnold.'

Charlie groaned. 'You're not going to let me live that one down, are you.'

'Nope.' Anabela laughed.

Liv clapped her hands in sudden excitement. 'Oh, my God, guys, you should totally put yourselves down for the Talent Show.'

Anabela's grin wiped itself from her face. 'What did you just say?'

'You should go for the Talent Show. You guys are so great together, your voices harmonize really well, you've got a song to sing now…it'd be great!'

'It'd be awful!' Anabela exclaimed. 'No way, no how!'

Charlie covered his mouth with his hand, trying not to let Anabela see his smile. She glared at him.

'Besides, the gossip would just build. I don't want that. I can't have girls asking me if Charlie Bolton was really as good as everyone said he was.'

Charlie looked scandalized. 'I'm not exactly sure if I should be horrified or feel flattered.'

'You should do it.' Liv handed Anabela the music. 'Keep it. I have tons of other copies of it anyway. And think about it, okay?' She picked up her bag, lying on the side of the stage, and skipped down the steps. 'I've got a music lesson. See you in Spanish, Anabela. Later, Charlie!'

Anabela and Charlie watched as the redhead left the auditorium, and then turned to each other. Charlie raised his eyebrows at her and she shook her head.

'Nuh-uh, Charlie. There is no way I'm doing it.'

He pouted. 'Oh, why not?'

She left the sheets of music on the piano and went to sit on the edge of the stage. 'Number one, I can't sing.'

Charlie opened his mouth to say something, but Anabela shook her head. 'Nope, Charlie. Not a word. Number two, I have the worst stage fright in the world. Number three, everyone will laugh at me and I just really don't want to humiliate myself any more than I already have.'

Charlie held up his hands in defeat, laughing, and took a seat beside her. 'Okay, okay, we won't do it.' She tipped her head towards him, silently thanking him. 'But number one, you have a beautiful voice, number two, being on stage is kind of fun, although if you tell any of the guys on the team I will hunt you down, and number three, if you sang in the Talent Show like you did just then, no one would laugh at you. In fact, I believe you'd become a little bit of a legend.'

She smiled at his kindness, but shook her head. 'I'm sorry, Charlie. I really can't.' Giggling, she added, 'But maybe you want to?'

'Um, no.' Charlie laughed, and put on a sexy low voice. 'If I'm not singing with you, babe, I'm not singing with anyone.'

'But you're great! I can't believe you don't sing more.'

'Oh, I sing all the time. My showerhead's really impressed.'

She just laughed at him. He gazed at her, wondering at how beautiful she was. The curl of her hair, framing her face and falling down her back, the curve of her cheek, still prettily tinged with a faint blush from her singing, her eyes, shining happily as she looked at him…He knew she had a boyfriend, knew that there couldn't be anyway that she liked him the way he did her, but he found himself moving towards her almost unconsciously. And, to his surprise, he found that she was doing the same thing.

He could feel her warm breath on his lips, could almost taste her, when the auditorium door flung open with a loud bang and they jumped away from each other, embarrassed.

'Dude, I do not want to know why you're in here,' Jake said, stalking up the aisle, 'But we better get going. Coach's got us running sprints on the field next period, which is in…' He looked at his watch. '…precisely two minutes.'

Charlie got up from his side of the stage, smiling apologetically at Anabela. 'Sorry, Bella. I better go.'

She nodded. 'Yeah. I'll see you round.'

He grabbed the music from the piano top and handed it to her. 'I dare you to keep it,' he said, his blue eyes twinkling. She clutched the papers in her hand as she watched him and the tall black boy make their way through the auditorium. The door closed behind them, and she looked down at the music sheets, a small smile gracing her lips.

-

**Up next**:

'I think you should do it.'

'Ryan. Come on. Start being serious.'

'I am the picture of sincerity right now.'

'But it's completely ridiculous. It's the annual East High Talent Show.'

Ryan was puzzled. 'What do you have against talent shows?'

She humphed at him. 'It's the principle, Ryan. And that principle is a stupid one. I don't know why Liv even suggested it in the first place.'

'Because now she's heard you sing she knows she's gotta get you out there so the general public can hear the lovely voice that belongs to Anabela Montez.'


	13. Do You Want To Know A Secret?

**A/N**: A couple of things to say about this chapter:

1. It was initially called _Everyone's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey_, but it didn't really fit. So I had to change it to something that did.

2. There's quite an important mention in here of Jane Austen's novel _Persuasion_. In case some of you don't know the plot, here's a quick summary: Anne Elliot, as a young woman, is persuaded by a close family friend to reject Frederick Wentworth's marriage proposal, even though she loves him dearly. Years later, Anne meets Wentworth again, and, after a lot of confusion and bitterness, they both reveal that they still love each other, and marry. It was released after Austen's death, and while it never became as well known as _Pride and Prejudice_ or _Sense and Sensibility_, it is Austen's most powerful and poignant novel about love. I liked the parallels with Troy and Gabriella's story, so I mentioned it in here. Be prepared for another mention of it towards the end of the story!

3. I hope Daniel Radcliffe forgives me for what I say about him in this chapter.

4. The actor Robby Benson actually called his daughter Lyric. I thought it was kinda funny. But he probably doesn't think so. So, sorry, Robby. I try to make it up to you in the next chapter.

As always, please review! (And as to _xorss_: teehee, _Charbela_. You called it!)

-

**Previously**:

Liv clapped her hands in sudden excitement. 'Oh, my God, guys, you should totally put yourselves down for the Talent Show.'

Anabela's grin wiped itself from her face. 'What did you just say?'

'You should go for the Talent Show. You guys are so great together, your voices harmonize really well, you've got a song to sing now…it'd be great!'

'It'd be awful!' Anabela exclaimed. 'No way, no how!'

-

Now on to…

**Chapter Thirteen**

_Do You Want To Know A Secret?_

-

Gabriella was bored. Her mother had been in the chemo room for only ten minutes, yet Gabriella already wanted to walk out. She had accidentally left her book beside her bed, and beside the scary posters on the wall, detailing the horrors of cancer, the only possible thing to lessen the boredom were some crappy celebrity magazines.

Sighing, Gabriella picked one up and flicked through it. In the whole ten minutes it took her to read the entire magazine, she found out that Daniel Radcliffe, an actor she vaguely remembered from movies in her teen years, had recently divorced from his second wife, and, that her stars were aligned in such a way that she would meet a tall dark stranger within the next couple of days.

She threw the magazine back on the table with a look of disgust, only to look up at a sudden chuckle.

It belonged to a man standing by the receptionist's desk. He grinned apologetically as she raised an eyebrow at him.

'I'm sorry. It was just…your face…' He had a foreign accent; it sounded a little English. He chuckled again. 'I'm guessing you don't like celebrity magazines?'

'I forgot my book,' Gabriella said by way of explanation.

He nodded, his face struggling to stay serious. 'Right. What book?'

'_Persuasion_.'

He smiled. 'The best Jane Austen wrote, I think.'

She stared at him, a little surprised. 'You've read Jane Austen?'

The man grinned. 'Yeah. Why do you ask?'

She giggled. 'Most guys I know run fast and far away from anything by Jane Austen.' Troy had been one of them, refusing straight out when she suggested it to him.

_'No way, Gabi.'_

_'Why not?'_

_'They're books for girls. Guys don't read them.'_

_She rolled her eyes. 'Troy. That's not true.'_

_'Gabi, I wouldn't push this. I am very stubborn on the subject of Jane Austen. My mom's tried to get me to read _Pride and Prejudice_ for years now.' He smiled at her crestfallen face. 'I know you love _The Lord of The Rings_, though. I'll read that.'_

_She laughed. 'Okay, Wildcat. I'll take what I can get.'_

'Not me.' The guy leant back on the counter, folding his arms. 'I've read them all.' He shrugged. 'I do have three sisters. Maybe that has something to do with it.' She smiled and he went on. '_Persuasion_'s my favorite, though.'

Gabriella nodded. 'Me too.'

He stepped forward, holding out his hand. His eyes were very green. 'I'm Paul. Paul Drake.'

'Gabriella Montez.' She shook his proffered hand, feeling even littler than usual as she looked up at his tall frame.

'You're not sick, are you?'

She shook his head, smiling a little. 'No. My mom is. She's having chemo…' Gabriella suddenly saw her mother walking through the doors, looking a little pale. 'Actually, she's not anymore. But I better take her home.'

'Hello, Dr Drake,' Carmen said, smiling despite the pain Gabriella knew she was feeling.

Gabriella turned to Paul, her eyebrows high on her forehead.

'Did I forget to mention I work here?' He grimaced. 'Sorry.'

Carmen was looking slyly from her daughter to the handsome doctor, and Gabriella wondered at her initial thought of her mother being in pain. The look on her face was sheer calculating Carmen. 'Did you know that my daughter is a doctor too, Dr Drake?'

Paul grinned. 'Oh, really?'

Gabriella was blushing. 'I'm a GP.'

'In Albuquerque?'

'In Boston. I had to take time off. So I could look after my mother.' Gabriella sent her mother a look that clearly said, if you say another word you won't be getting a ride home. 'I better take her home.'

He nodded. 'I hope to see you again, Gabriella.'

She smiled, took her mother's arm and pushed her towards the exit, her mind flitting back to the magazine. _You will meet a tall, dark stranger._ She glanced back at Paul; his dark head bobbing back to the door Carmen had come from.

Maybe that horoscope hadn't been such crap after all.

-

'Hello, Anabela here.' She looked down at her nails, making a mental note to take the chipped polish off.

'Hey, kid.'

She grinned. 'Ryan! How're you!'

'Very well. How's my darling girl?'

'Good.' She launched herself up so she was perched on the kitchen counter.

'What's been happening since I spoke to you last? Anything crazy happen?'

Anabela laughed. 'This is East High we're talking about, Ryan.'

'My point exactly.'

She giggled. 'Well, one of my friends, Liv, did I tell you about her?'

'The redhead who plays the piano?'

'Yup. Well, she forced me into the auditorium and made me sing. And then she said that I should enter myself into the Talent Show. That's crazy enough for me.'

Ryan laughed. 'Not crazy to me, Anabela. You've got a lovely voice.' He paused. 'I think you should do it.'

'Ryan. Come on. Start being serious.'

'I am the picture of sincerity right now.' Anabela didn't believe him, but kept listening anyway. 'And I'm telling you, you should do it.'

'But it's completely ridiculous. It's the annual East High Talent Show.'

Ryan was puzzled. 'What do you have against talent shows?'

She humphed at him. 'It's the principle, Ryan. And that principle is a stupid one. I don't know why Liv even suggested it in the first place.'

'Because now she's heard you sing she knows she's gotta get you out there so the general public can hear the lovely voice that belongs to Anabela Montez.'

'There are so many things wrong with that sentence right there, Ryan…'

'I forgot how stubborn you can be.'

Anabela grinned. 'Why thank you.'

Ryan laughed. 'Look, sweetie, I've heard your voice. It's beautiful. If I could cast you in one of my productions I would.' She scoffed, but he wouldn't back down. 'I know you have issues with the stage, and having people hear you sing, but your mom managed it.'

Anabela was suddenly curious. 'What do you mean by that?' she asked.

'Who're you talking to?' Gabriella asked, strolling into the kitchen, pulling an apron from the drawer and preparing to make the dinner.

'Ryan,' Anabela mouthed.

Ryan was laughing. 'You mean she hasn't told you?'

Anabela frowned. 'She hasn't told me what?' Gabriella turned around from washing her hands to watch her daughter, sitting on the metal island in the middle of the kitchen.

'When she was at East High, she performed in a musical. _Twinkle Towne_, in fact. She played the lead.'

Anabela was struggling to process a couple of things. Firstly, her mother had been in a musical. Second of all, she had played the lead. Thirdly, that had been the musical Charlie had said he had acted in. 'Mom did what?'

Gabriella looked slightly panicked. 'What's he telling you?'

'My sister and I had held the lead roles in East High's musicals for the previous seventeen performances until she and Troy came along and went all Sandy and Danny on us.'

'Troy?' Anabela squeaked. 'Do you mean Troy Bolton?'

Gabriella's hand went to her mouth. 'Ryan, shut up!'

'I cannot believe this!' Anabela cried. 'I've heard about Troy in passing, sure, but not about this entire musical thing!' She was speaking partly to her mother, partly to Ryan, who was laughing hard. 'Why didn't you tell me?' she asked Gabriella accusingly.

Gabriella shrugged helplessly. 'It was twenty years ago! It was embarrassing. You know how I hate crowds.'

'She was great,' Ryan smiled. 'She and Troy were going out at the time and they had great chemistry on stage…'

Anabela shrieked, jumping off the counter. 'Mom and Troy went out!?'

Gabriella dove for her daughter, aiming for the phone clutched in the younger girl's grip, but Anabela ducked away. Ryan, on the other end of the phone, was beside himself.

'She's never told you?'

'Ryan!' Gabriella groaned.

Anabela shook her head. 'No.' She frowned at her mother, curious. 'And why not, Mom?'

'I'm sorry.' Gabriella was blushing. 'Troy and I…It was always a difficult subject. We were together for a long time, and he was the reason I left Albuquerque.' She shook her head, her eyes conveying her genuine apology. 'It was just…'

Anabela smiled. 'I understand, Mom.' Then, to Ryan, 'Do you know that Troy Bolton has a son?'

'Your mom told me he did.'

'Did she tell you that he happened to be Charlie Bolton, the guy who sang with me today, and who Liv's insisting sing with me at the Talent Show?'

Ryan began laughing again. 'This is priceless.' He was having difficulty speaking, he was laughing so much. 'You totally have to do it, Anabela. It'd be time coming full circle.'

Anabela handed the phone over to her mother. 'Ryan's insane, Mom.'

Gabriella smiled. 'I know.'

-

Anabela bounced onto her bed, her mind full of so much she could hardly think. Her mother had gone out with Troy Bolton when she was a teenager was one of the major things buzzing around her head. She couldn't believe it. And how crazy was it that she and Charlie were becoming so close, talking together so much, thinking about singing together, just as their parents had? Was that weird? That she liked Charlie so much? That earlier that day she had leant in to kiss him?

_Oh, God. _

She groaned. She and Charlie had been laughing, and before she'd known it they'd almost kissed. How could she have even contemplated leaning in towards him? She had a boyfriend. And Charlie was the school god. Danielle Roberts, as well as the great majority of East High's female population, would kill her if they ever found out what had happened.

Had she wanted something to happen with her and Charlie? And was it weird now, having wanted that, when her mother and his father had been out years ago?

Charlie made her laugh more easily than anyone she knew. And she got a curl of excitement in her stomach whenever he called her 'Bella'. Not to mention he was gorgeous, with those blue eyes and that smile (that was particularly adorable today when he fake pouted at her insisting on calling him Arnold)…

She shook her head. She loved Ethan. Granted, he was acting a little strange, but it was a long distance relationship. They were difficult. They just needed a little time to figure things out, to see where they stood.

She got off her bed and reached for her phone. She'd call him. See if there was a weekend he was free so she could go and visit him. He'd be pleased. She could forget about Charlie and her mother's relationship with Troy Bolton. Smiling, she dialed his now-familiar number.

He took so long to get to his phone she thought she might have to leave a message, but someone picked up at the last second. That someone was giggling. And that someone was a girl. Anabela felt her stomach drop.

'Hello? This is my gorgeous boyfriend's phone. What can I do for you?'

There was laughter, and Anabela took a deep breath, willing herself not to cry.

'Hi. Um, I was wondering if Ethan was there.'

The girl giggled. 'Sure. Ethan! It's for you!'

Anabela could hear him rustling about in the background, and then he picked up. 'Hello?'

'Hi.' Her voice was quiet, but she knew he knew it was her.

'Anabela.' He sounded surprised.

'Who was that?' she asked, hating herself for sounding like one of those whining girls who didn't trust their boyfriends.

He was quiet for a while. 'Lyric. You don't know her.'

'Lyric? Her name's Lyric?'

'Yes. So what?'

Anabela wanted to yell at him. _Her name's Lyric! Don't you find that odd?_ In the back of her mind, one not so preoccupied with the name, was wondering why she hadn't figured this ending out earlier. 'You're going out with her now, then?'

'No, no.' He was too quick to answer her, and she rolled her eyes, hardly believing this was the same boy she had left in Boston. 'She was joking. She's just a friend.'

'Ethan. Come on. I'm not that thick.'

He sighed. 'Okay. So we're going out. I'm sorry, okay? It's just, you and I weren't working out, you were so far away, but Lyric was right here…'

'I understand.' _Why hadn't any of her friends told her what was going on? Why hadn't they told her that her boyfriend was becoming rather too friendly with a girl whose name was just ridiculous?_

'Look, Anabela, we had fun. I wanted to make it work out, I really did. But we just weren't able to do the long distance thing.'

'Yeah, I know.'

'Will you be okay?' It was the only time in the entire conversation his voice sounded genuinely concerned.

'I'll be fine.'

'Give me a call when you get back to Boston, okay? I'd still like to see you.'

'Okay,' Anabela said, knowing she never would. She'd move schools if she had to, she just never wanted to hear or see from him again. 'I have to go, Ethan.'

'Okay. Well, I'll see you around, Anabela.'

'Goodbye.' It didn't sound like her own voice; it was too weak, too vulnerable, too quiet. She heard him hang up, and she pressed the 'end call' button on her own phone, looking at it a little disbelievingly.

Had that really just happened? Had she just discovered that Ethan had been cheating on her for who knows how long? (And with a girl called _Lyric_?) How had she ever fallen for a guy like that?

Still in shock, she got off the bed and made her way down the hall to her mother's room. Gabriella was lying on her bed, reading a science magazine. Taking one look at her daughter, Gabriella pushed the magazine aside, sitting up and holding out her arms.

It was only when she was being held in her mother's embrace, her hair being stroked gently, that the tears came.

It felt like a release.

-

**Up next**:

'I'll be fine.' She gazed up into those blue eyes, so troubled, and felt she had to add something. 'I just feel…tense. Pent up with reckless energy, you know? I just feel really cross at Ethan, and at myself for being so damn morbid all morning…' She shrugged, looking down at her folder. 'I feel like doing something radical. Something I would never dream I could do.'

His face lit up. 'I have an idea. Come with me.'


	14. Let It Be

**A/N**: Sorry about the wait for this chapter – I've been working and working and working and have had barely enough time to breathe, let alone write. For all of you who reviewed expressing worries about Troyella, trust me, there will be a happy ending. There just has to be a little complication first. This chapter mainly focuses on Charbela, and now that Ethan's out of the picture things can heat up there. To _12superstar_ – I can't express properly how touched I was by your review, so I've dedicated this to you instead.

Hope you enjoy and please review!

-

**Previously**:

'I think you should do it.'

'Ryan. Come on. Start being serious.'

'I am the picture of sincerity right now.'

'But it's completely ridiculous. It's the annual East High Talent Show.'

Ryan was puzzled. 'What do you have against talent shows?'

She humphed at him. 'It's the principle, Ryan. And that principle is a stupid one. I don't know why Liv even suggested it in the first place.'

'Because now she's heard you sing she knows she's gotta get you out there so the general public can hear the lovely voice that belongs to Anabela Montez.'

-

Now on to…

**Chapter Fourteen**

_Let It Be_

-

'Anabela?'

She tensed, knowing that voice automatically. It was their secret hiding place, after all. She quickly wiped her eyes, knowing even as she did so it wouldn't do much good. She'd been crying since she had discovered that old, forgotten photo of her and Ethan stashed away in her Chem book before the lunch bell. _It wouldn't matter even if I didn't look this horrific anyway_, she thought. _Charlie would still understand that something was wrong_.

She turned to face the taller boy, across on the other side of the roof, trying to smile. His face was grave and, wordlessly, he strode over to her and took her into his arms. She was a little shocked at first, but he was warm and anxious and she let her arms latch around his back, starting to cry yet again. Who knew she could have this many tears?

His face was buried into her hair, and he was rubbing her back in long, soothing strokes. She knew she was probably scaring him, and tried to stop crying. She let herself relax into his arms, liking the feel of his warm breath on her forehead, his strong embrace. She hiccuped suddenly, and let out a little giggle.

'What happened?' he murmured. 'Are you okay?'

She nuzzled her head deeper into his shoulder, her voice muffled by the fabric of his shirt. 'Ethan broke up with me.' She sighed. 'He was cheating on me. With a girl called Lyric.'

Charlie stopped rubbing her back. 'Did I hear that right? _Lyric_?'

She nodded. 'Mm-hmm.'

Charlie gripped her a little tighter. 'Oh, Bella. I'm so sorry.' After a little pause, he added, 'And I'm sorry for her. A girl should never be haunted with a name like that.'

Anabela nodded. 'Maybe she's really nice. She can't help her name.'

Charlie chuckled. 'She may be Mother Theresa, Bella, but right now it's okay to hate her. She's going out with Ethan, after all. Who cheated on you.'

She nodded, a few tears making their way out of the corners of her eyes again. 'I didn't see it coming.'

He shrugged. 'How could you? He was all the way in Boston. There was no way you could've known.'

'None of my friends even said anything. No warning, nothing. Just last night, my call being answered by _her_.' Anabela groaned. 'How could I have been so stupid?'

Charlie pulled away from her a little, looking into her eyes. 'You're not stupid, Bella. He is. For doing something like that. With a girl called _Lyric_, no less.' He smiled encouragingly at her. 'No matter how nice she is. He's stupid for letting you go.'

She couldn't help but smile a little at his words. He was so sweet. 'Thanks, Charlie.' She looked down at her hands. 'I'm just cross at myself, really. I knew that something was up, that he didn't feel that he could do the long distance thing anymore…' She bit her lip. 'It's just so unfair. For him to do this at this time…'

Charlie frowned. 'What do you mean by that?'

Anabela glanced up into those blue eyes, a little surprised at the depth of his concern. 'You don't know why I came to Albuquerque, do you.'

Charlie shrugged. 'I just thought you and your mom had moved here, for one reason or another. I was in no position to ask.'

Anabela sighed. 'We moved because of my grandmother. My _Abuela_. She has cancer, and we moved so we could take care of her while she was having her treatment.' She sniffled. 'Dealing with that's hard enough, but then for this to happen with Ethan…' She looked up at the sky, willing herself not to start crying again, a bitter smile on her face. 'It's just really sucky timing, is all.'

Charlie reached for one of her hands, squeezing it gently. 'Do you mind if I tell you something? It's not something many people know about me, so…'

Anabela smiled, wiping her eyes with the back of her palm. 'Sure.'

'It's about my mother.' He looked out over to the mountains. 'She was great. The best mom a guy could have. The type who would make you hot chocolate with extra marshmallows, who would kiss your knee if you scraped it, who would listen with all ears to whatever ridiculous plan you had hatched that day.' He looked down at his shoes. 'She got cancer when I was six. I hardly noticed. She was in bed a bit more than usual, Dad was around the house when I got home from school, when he'd usually be back a lot later than me…It didn't really register.'

Anabela knew where this was headed, but kept her mouth closed.

'She seemed to get all better, but two years later she went into remission. And never got better.' He looked back up at the petite brunette, whose eyes were once again full of tears. 'She died when I was eight.'

'Charlie, I'm so sorry…'

He shrugged. 'It was a long time ago. Most people here don't know about it. Only Jake, really.' He threaded his hand through his hair. 'I'm not the Charlie Bolton the entire school thinks is some god. I'm just a guy who keeps his dad close and cries every time he visits his mom's grave. It was what I was trying to tell you, that day we were up here together. I'm not the school jock when I'm with you; I can just be me, a normal guy.'

She sniffed. 'Thank you for telling me.' She reached for him and gave him a long hug, inhaling his lovely boy-smell. 'I feel like the biggest baby, for making such a big deal about Ethan and _Abuela_…'

'Don't.' He pulled away, smiling. 'The guy was important to you. And she's your grandmother.' He frowned. 'Um, and don't think that just because my mom died because of the cancer means that your grandmother will. I'm sure she'll be just fine. Medicine has improved so much since then.' Anabela smiled at him gratefully.

'Thanks, Charlie.'

'Will you be okay?' He was still concerned.

She nodded. 'I'll be fine.' She gazed up into those blue eyes, so troubled, and felt she had to add something. 'I just feel…tense. Pent up with reckless energy, you know? I just feel really cross at Ethan, and at myself for being so damn morbid all morning…' She shrugged, looking down at her folder. 'I feel like doing something radical. Something I would never dream I could do.'

Charlie grinned. 'I could take you out for a wild night of underage drinking…'

Anabela laughed. 'No. Nothing like that. I don't really know how to explain it.' She lifted her hands up helplessly. 'I just need to do something drastic, is all. To prove to myself that I can.'

He nodded. 'Right. Well…' His face lit up. 'Okay. I have an idea. Come with me.'

Taking her hand, he pulled her down the roof's stairs and through the corridors until they came to the noticeboard outside the auditorium. On the Talent Show sign-up sheet, he wrote in his loopy scrawl:

_Song to be performed by Charlie Bolton &_

He moved away so Anabela could see what he had written. He raised his eyebrows at her, holding his pen out. It was an invitation, and although her heart was thumping wildly with fear, Anabela grinned. She had to do this.

Taking the pen, she boldly wrote her own name beside his.

Coming around the corner, Danielle Roberts took one look at the laughing couple walking back down the corridor and shook her head grimly. Taking one look at the sign-up board proudly proclaiming the social suicide the two were willing to commit, Danielle frowned furiously. 'Oh no you don't, Charles Bolton.'

-

When Carmen came through the doors after finishing up her chemo, she saw that nice Drake fellow talking to her daughter. They were laughing, and Carmen was pleased. It had been all too long since Gabriella had been going out with a good man, and Dr Drake was a nice boy. And so handsome, too.

She watched them talking for a few more minutes, until she decided they'd had enough time to flirt. She wanted to go home and eat one of that boy Zeke's brownies. They were almost – almost – as good as her own.

'Gabriella? I'm ready.' Her daughter smiled and stood up, taking her hand.

'So I'll pick you up at seven?' The Drake fellow was still looking at Gabriella.

Gabriella nodded. 'That'd be lovely, Paul.'

He smiled at her, nodded his head at Carmen, and turned away back to the receptionist's desk.

Gabriella was blushing, and Carmen couldn't resist teasing her a bit. 'You going out with him, Gabriella?'

'God, Mama. Yes, I am. Saturday night.'

'Tomorrow?'

Gabriella nodded, and Carmen stifled a smile.

'That'll be nice. He's a good man, that Dr Drake.'

Gabriella glanced back at Paul, his head down looking over some test results. _Why was she thinking of Troy at a time like this?_ 'He is, Mama, he is.'

-

**Up next**:

'Is it weird, having her back?'

Troy shook his head. 'No. It's good, in a way. We needed to resolve all that unspoken stuff between us.'

Charlie nodded, beginning to walk up the stairs to his bedroom. 'You know what I find weird?'

Troy looked up at him. 'What, kiddo?'

'History has a habit of repeating itself.'


	15. Not A Second Time

**A/N**: Hmm, I don't really like this chapter too much; I think it's a little slow. Next chapter, though, there'll be lots of drama and angst for our two younger lovebirds. As for Troyella, don't lose hope! Do you really think I'd leave Gabriella with a guy like Paul?

As always, please review! I'd love it if I could get to 90 before I put out the next chapter!

-

**Previously**:

'I'll be fine.' She gazed up into those blue eyes, so troubled, and felt she had to add something. 'I just feel…tense. Pent up with reckless energy, you know? I just feel really cross at Ethan, and at myself for being so damn morbid all morning…' She shrugged, looking down at her folder. 'I feel like doing something radical. Something I would never dream I could do.'

His face lit up. 'I have an idea. Come with me.'

-

Now on to…

**Chapter Fifteen**

_Not A Second Time_

-

'That looks so good. Do you mind?' Paul pointed to his spoon, and Gabriella smiled, pushing the bowl of chocolate mousse towards him.

'Go for it.'

The dark haired man took a small scoop of the thick mixture and sucked on the spoon, moaning in pleasure. 'That is good mousse.'

Gabriella giggled. 'You have not had chocolate mousse until you've had my friend's mousse. He's a genius at anything sweet.'

'Oh yeah?'

Gabriella nodded. 'He won a date with the most sought-after girl in school when he made her his crème brulee.' Paul didn't have to know that Sharpay's nickname was Ice Princess, did he? 'He actually owns a café here. Maybe you know it? It's called _delicious_.'

Paul shook his head. 'I don't.' He grinned charmingly at her. 'You'll have to take me there one day.'

Gabriella grinned. 'I will indeed.'

She really liked Paul. He'd arrived at her house a little early, but had spoken to Carmen and Anabela while Gabriella finished blow-drying her hair. As Anabela had pushed her mother out the door, she had whispered that she thought Paul was a catch.

'And that accent!' she had sighed. 'I want an Englishman!'

Gabriella, to her embarrassment, had flushed bright red.

He made her laugh the entire way through dinner. They had very similar tastes, listening to the same music, watching similar films, and reading the same books. He revealed that one of his old girlfriends had studied literature while he was finishing his medical degree, and forced him to read all the novels she was required to for class so they could discuss them together. Gabriella had been surprised at his knowledge of past authors and his passion for novels, in particular those written during the nineteenth century.

They had talked for three hours straight and she was still eager to learn more about him. Despite all that conversation, she still didn't know why he was in the US. As she finished off her dessert she gazed at him, still a little surprised at how attracted she was to him. It wasn't just his intelligence and compassion; he was very handsome. Tall, with broad shoulders, deep green eyes, dark curly hair and a wide, curving smile…Gabriella agreed with Anabela. He was a catch. She could hardly believe he was still single.

After insisting he pay the bill, the two stepped outside and driven in silence back to her house. Gabriella felt embarrassed. How could they be struggling to stop themselves from speaking over each other at dinner, but now, barely ten minutes later, find themselves in awkward silence?

Paul parked outside her house and turned to her, smiling a little uncertainly. 'I'm just going to say this, okay? I like you. I thought we had great chemistry at the restaurant. And I'd really like to see you again. Preferably soon.'

She smiled cheekily. 'Well, I do have to take you to Zeke's café.'

He waved his hand away. 'You don't have to…'

She placed her hand on his knee. 'Paul. I want to.'

He moved closer and pressed a gentle kiss to her mouth, lingering for a few seconds afterwards. He made to move away, but she caught his face with her palm and brought her mouth to his once more, kissing him with more passion. He tasted like red wine and dark chocolate mousse, and she didn't want to let him go.

He pulled away for air, looking at her in surprise. 'Wow.'

She smirked at him. 'I'll see you around, Paul.'

The dark-haired man grinned. 'I'm counting on it.'

-

'So…Have you seen Gabriella around recently?' Taylor asked nonchalantly. Troy looked up from his wine, eyeing her carefully, knowing her question was far from casual.

'I have.'

Taylor looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to go on, but all the tall man did was take another sip of his wine. She rolled her eyes. 'God, Troy. I need more details here.'

Troy laughed. 'We had a coffee at Zeke's together a couple of weeks ago. Talked a bit. I've seen her around a few times since. That's all.'

'Are you sure?' Chad asked teasingly.

Troy didn't take the bait. 'That's all, Chad.'

Taylor looked a bit disappointed. 'What did you talk about?'

Troy shrugged. 'You know. Stuff.'

Chad and Taylor glanced at one another, and Troy smiled at their identical expressions, clearly asking, _what are we going to do with him_?

'What type of stuff?' Jake called from where he and Charlie were washing up the dinner things. 'And is this the same Gabriella that ran out on our Friday night dinner?'

'Yup, same Gabriella. And it was just talk about, you know, the past and stuff.' Troy looked down, his long fingers playing with the tablecloth.

It was Chad's turn to roll his eyes. 'You're a hopeless case, Bolton.'

Troy chuckled. 'What do you want me to say, Chad? We talked for hours and resolved everything that ever happened between us? That we caught up on twenty years of being apart? I heard about her life? She heard about mine?'

Chad wasn't embarrassed at all. 'Well, yeah, man. This is Gabriella, after all.'

Charlie finished wiping up the last plate as Jake sat back down at the table. 'Why's Gabriella so important?'

'She and Dad went out when they were teenagers,' Charlie said, grinning at his father. 'They were in luurrve…'

Chad folded his arms together, smiling. 'Bolton may joke about it now, but it was completely serious back then.'

Taylor grinned, reminiscing. 'Troy and Gabriella were the school's golden couple. It was a huge deal when they got together. Troy was this lunkhead basketball star-'

'With a hot best friend,' Chad added, batting his eyelashes at his wife.

Taylor just rolled her eyes. 'Gabriella was this science whiz who moved to East High when she was sixteen. Turned out that she and Troy had met over New Year's at this alpine resort…'

'They were both pulled up to the karaoke machine so they could sing some daggy song or another,' Chad told the boys, grinning. Charlie looked at his dad, a little confused as to why he hadn't heard this entire story before. Troy was blushing a little, his eyes still downcast.

'Anyway. They completely transcended the school cliques by becoming friends, and while there were some jerks who tried to separate the cute couple…'

'Oi!' Chad cried, at her pointed glare. 'I apologised afterwards!'

'…they eventually overcame the odds stacked against them to win the roles for the school musicale. And they were pretty much together ever since.'

'You make it sound like it was some sort of Disney movie, Taylor,' Troy mumbled. 'It wasn't like that at all.'

Chad laughed. 'Come on, Troy. It was like _Grease_ all over again. Only this time it was better, because it starred one very handsome man by the name of…'

'Chad Danforth, yeah, we know.' Taylor gave her husband a quick peck on the cheek to make up for her sarcastic tone. 'Troy and Gabriella were considered one of the rare few teenagers who would get through high school together, make it through college together, spend the rest of their lives together. I mean, people were even taking bets on when Troy here was going to propose.'

Troy stared at her. 'What?'

'You heard me.'

Troy made a face. 'Why?'

'Boredom, dude,' Chad said, with a world-weary sigh. 'What else was there to do at East High?'

Jake held up his hands, shaking his head slowly. 'So, wait, let me get this. Troy and Gabriella were totally in love and planning their future together, and then…What happened?'

'We broke up,' Troy said shortly.

Charlie frowned, but didn't say anything.

'It was a huge scandal,' Chad mock-whispered. 'Gabriella left Albuquerque to go to Harvard, and Troy stayed with the rest of the Wildcats here. And they haven't seen each other for twenty years.'

Jake nodded, finally understanding. 'No wonder she ran out on us, then.'

After being grilled a little more by Chad about what exactly he and Gabriella had spoken about, Troy and Charlie left the Danforths', walking briskly in the chilly air to their house.

Charlie was desperately curious about one part of his father's romance. 'Dad?'

'Yeah, kiddo?'

'Why did you and Gabriella break up? If your relationship was going so well, why did you have to end it?'

Troy sighed. 'It was complicated, Chaz.'

'Because of her going to Harvard, do you mean?'

Troy bit his lip. 'It was a lot of things. The long distance was going to be a problem. I can remember her saying that she didn't want us to fall apart with the distance. Always in different places, at different times…'

'And she didn't think you guys could figure it out?' Charlie was a little surprised at Troy's intense gaze. 'It's just, from the sound of it, she really loved you. And you really loved her.'

Troy looked up at the stars. 'I did, kiddo. But she was right. It was better to end it while we still had good memories, rather than finishing it when we both despised each other for tearing ourselves in half, trying to work out the distance.' He smiled. 'Besides, I met your mom soon afterwards. I loved her so much, Charlie. And we had you. I don't regret anything, if that's what you're trying to ask.'

Charlie smiled. 'I don't exactly know what I was trying to ask, Dad.' They walked up to their front porch and Troy pulled his key from his jeans' pocket. 'Is it weird, having her back?'

Troy shook his head. 'No. It's good, in a way. We needed to resolve all that unspoken stuff between us.'

Charlie nodded, beginning to walk up the stairs to his bedroom. 'You know what I find weird?'

Troy looked up at him. 'What, kiddo?'

'History has a habit of repeating itself.'

-

Anabela slid into her seat earlier than usual on Monday morning, opening her folder and waiting for Charlie to come in. She didn't have to wait long. He had obviously caught a ride in with his dad.

'Hey, Bella,' he said, smiling as he took a seat beside her. 'How're you?'

She bit her lip. 'Um, not so good, actually.'

He frowned. 'Why?'

She said it fast. 'I don't think I should've put my name down for the Talent Show.'

Charlie laughed. 'And here I was, thinking it was something serious.'

'This is serious!' she said, a little put out that he was laughing at her. 'I don't think I can do it, Charlie.'

'That's rubbish. Of course you can. What happened to all that determination you had on Friday afternoon? _I need to do something radical, Charlie! I'm filled with reckless energy, Charlie!_'

'That was Friday?' Anabela said, sounding unsure.

Charlie laughed. 'You're doing this, Bella. I'm not letting you back down.' She looked as if she was about to say something, but Charlie got there first. 'Have you heard the Eleanor Roosevelt quote: _Do one this every day that scares you_?' She shook her head and he smiled. 'Well, I'm not sure about the every day thing, but this is one scary thing you have to do. Otherwise you'll always wonder what it would've been like. What would've happened if you had actually let loose and sung in front of the entire school.'

'The entire school's going to be there?' she gasped.

Charlie groaned. 'Um, okay, that obviously wasn't the best pep talk I've ever given.' Anabela just stared at him. 'But, hey, you have a secret weapon.'

'Yeah?' Her face seemed to become a little lighter.

'Yeah. Me.'

Anabela frowned. 'And here I thought I'd be something of a female James Bond…'

'Hey. There are people queuing to have me as a secret weapon.' Charlie smiled. 'I'll be there with you every step of the way, Bella, making as much of a fool of myself as you are.'

Anabela raised her eyebrows. 'I just think that you must be terrible at pep talks all up, Charlie. Because you're doing a lousy job at making me feel better.'

He chuckled. 'Okay, so this secret weapon may have a few flaws. But we have history on our side!'

Anabela laughed. 'What do you mean, Charlie?'

'Okay, get this.' Charlie leaned forward conspiratorially, grinning. 'Our parents sang together in this musical thing and also at this karaoke bar and I'm not really sure how many other places but I'm sure if I just asked Chad would be more than happy to fill me in…'

'You're rambling,' she told him, and he promptly stopped, turning a little red. 'But about the whole 'Troy and Gabriella love story'? I've heard.'

'And isn't that weird? That our parents knew each other, let alone had a relationship…' He'd been thinking about it ever since dinner on Saturday night. He had tried to kiss Anabela, for God's sake! Was it odd that he liked her as much as he did, knowing now all of his father's history with her mother?

Anabela shrugged. 'It's weird if you think that if they hadn't ended the relationship we wouldn't be here. But apart from that, I think it's kinda sweet. A little scary that you and I are thinking of singing in a similar way to them, but apart from that, sweet.' Charlie was thinking about this when Anabela smiled. 'Okay, I'll do it. But on one condition.'

Charlie rolled his eyes. 'How there are even conditions when you agreed wholeheartedly to do this yesterday is beyond me…'

'I'm calling you Arnold.'

Charlie made a face. 'Anabela Montez, that angelic act you've got going on is hiding the devil underneath, right? You're pure evil!'

'And yet, you still love me!' she said sweetly, smiling at him.

_You have no idea_, he thought.

-

**Up next**:

'I won't let it happen. I won't let Charles do that to himself. He simply _can't_ do it.'

Peta raised her eyebrows. 'You mean, he can't do it with _her_?'

Danielle smiled maliciously. 'Well, that may have something to do with it all. That freak is going down.' She closed her locker and turned to her friends, her blue eyes glittering dangerously. 'Girls, I have a plan.'


	16. Love Me Do

Chapter Sixteen: Love Me Do

**A/N**: If you come running after me with pitchforks for getting this up so incredibly late, I don't blame you. My only explanation is that life got in the way. But it's up now! Things start to pick up in this chapter, culminating in much miscommunication and confusion in the next instalment! 

I promise the next few chapters should be up soon, but thanks so much for sticking with me, for leaving beautiful reviews every time, and generally inspiring me to keep with it. This chapter is dedicated to _ihatepeas_, who left a wonderful review and made me love her with all my little blonde heart. 

**Previously**:

'Is it weird, having her back?'

Troy shook his head. 'No. It's good, in a way. We needed to resolve all that unspoken stuff between us.'

Charlie nodded, beginning to walk up the stairs to his bedroom. 'You know what I find weird?'

Troy looked up at him. 'What, kiddo?'

'History has a habit of repeating itself.'

Now on to…

**Chapter Sixteen**

_Love Me Do_

'Did you hear about Charlie Bolton?'

Luisa glanced at Peta in her locker's mirror, by which she was carefully applying her lipgloss to impress the cute Latin teacher she had during third period. 'No. What happened?'

Peta leaned forward conspiratorially, smiling. 'He signed up to sing at the Talent Show.'

Luisa's mouth dropped open. 'He what?'

'With that new girl. You know, the freaky math genius who spilt her lunch all over her…'

'He didn't!' Luisa turned to her friend, slamming her locker door shut. 

'He did.' The two cheerleaders fell silent as Danielle Roberts brushed past them to open her own locker. 'On Friday afternoon. I caught them at the sign-up sheet together.' The blonde threw her hair back dramatically, taking a look at herself in her own mirror, puckering her lips.

'I can't believe this!' Luisa exclaimed. 'What's he doing it for? With her? Does he want the entire school to turn against him?'

Danielle shrugged. 'It's social suicide, there's no doubting that.' She frowned at her reflection. 'I won't let it happen. I won't let him do that to himself. He simply can't do it.'

Peta raised her eyebrows. 'You mean, he can't do it with _her_?'

Danielle smiled maliciously. 'Well, that may have something to do with it all. That freak is going down.' She closed her locker and turned to her friends, her blue eyes glittering dangerously. 'Girls, I have a plan.'

'Dude. What is this about you signing up for the Talent Show?'

'With Anabela?' Connor added quietly, sliding onto the desk.

Charlie looked up from his American History notes, frowning. 'What?'

Jake looked a little cross, struggling to keep his voice down. 'Dude. You. Montez. Singing together. At Darbus' hell of a night she liked to call the Annual Talent Show. Is it true or not?'

'It's true.' Charlie watched as his two friends looked at each other quickly, and then looked back at him, their faces identical in their cynicism. 'What's the big deal?'

'The big deal? Charlie, the big deal is that you just signed your own death warrant.' Jake shook his head, brown curls flicking around his face, his voice rising slightly. 'It's social suicide, being involved even indirectly with the Talent Show.'

'You'll be humiliated.' Connor was trying desperately for Charlie to understand him. 'There'll be no more Charlie Bolton, East High god.'

'There are more important things than being adored by cheerleaders.'

Connor frowned. 'I know that. I just don't think you should be singing with the Montez girl. There are enough rumors about you already. I didn't think you wanted any more.'

Jake waved his hands around. 'It's not just that. Look, Bolton, you're a hoops dude. Not a musical singer person.'

Charlie laughed. 'Okay, slow down, guys. Just because I'm singing with Anabela doesn't mean I'm going to go and audition for Broadway. This singing thing, it's just something I'm doing to help out Bella. Okay? So stop freaking out.'

But Jake looked even more concerned. 'Oh, no. You don't!'

Both Charlie and Connor looked confused. 'What?'

Jake stood up from his position on the table, pointing accusingly at Charlie. 'You like her!' he exclaimed, his face suddenly full of nervous excitement. 'And don't even try to lie about this, Bolton! You so like her! You've got your own little _nickname_ for her and are willing to become the mockery of East High's halls for her…'

'Boys!' It was the librarian, hands on her hips and shooting the three boys a glare that could melt steel. 'This is a _library_! Kindly lower your voices or I will have no choice but to throw you out!'

'Yes, Mrs Phelps,' the boys chorused. She bustled away, and Charlie turned back to look at his friends. 

'What am I supposed to say?'

Jake shrugged, his face carefully blank. 'Oh, I don't know, yes, Jake, you called it?'

'She's the only one for me?' Connor added helpfully. 

'She and I share a special _bond_.'

'It's unlike anything I've ever experienced before…'

Charlie groaned, running his hand through his hair. 'Okay, okay. I like her. A lot.' Jake high-fived Connor triumphantly, but Charlie added, 'But she just broke up with her boyfriend. She's fragile. I don't want to go and scare her off.'

'Watch out, dude,' Jake announced. 'Bolton's actually serious about this girl!'

'Waiting until she's emotionally ready.' Connor shook his head, pretending to wipe a tear from his eye. 'We trained you so well; you're such a sensitive soul.'

Charlie frowned at him, beginning to gather his notes. 'Look, I know that it isn't perfect, me liking her. There's her ex, the fact she's new here, that she's a hell of a lot clever than any of us, that I'm merely a jock…But I'm her friend, and I told her I'd sing with her. It won't interfere with my basketball. I'm not going to take up a career in singing, okay?'

Connor clapped a hand on his friend's back as they made their way out of the library. 'Good man.'

But Jake was shaking his head again. 'I'm not so much worried about the singing putting you off your basketball, as what _she'll_ do to your game.' 

Coming out from behind one of the library stacks, Danielle Roberts smiled, already wondering how she'd abuse this newly acquired information.

'So, you and Charlie Bolton seem to be getting on pretty well,' Liv said lightly as her fingers danced up the piano keys.

'Hmm?' Perched on the edge of the stage, her Chem homework spread out on her lap, Anabela looked up distractedly. 'What were you saying?'

'Charlie Bolton.' Holly had abandoned her deconstruction of Yeats' _Upon A Lady Dying_, taking her chewed-up blue ballpoint from her mouth. She looked all too curious for Anabela's comfort.

'What about him?' Anabela asked, feigning nonchalance as she looked back down at her papers, knowing she was riling Liv up. Which was always amusing to watch.

Liv groaned, stopping her playing abruptly. 'Come on, Anabela. You can't act like you don't know what we're talking about.'

Anabela glanced at the redhead, smiling a little. 'Well, I don't. Charlie's just a friend.'

'Just a friend my arse,' Holly accused. 'No girl spends that much time with a guy unless there's something else going on.'

Anabela laughed. 'You going to go all Harry Burns on me now, then?'

Holly looked at her blankly. 'Harry Burns?'

'_When Harry Met Sally_.' Holly and Liv looked at each other, then back to Anabela. 'It's a cult classic. The ultimate romantic comedy.' Anabela decided then and there, as she gazed into her friends' uncomprehending faces, that she and her mother watched far too much television. 'Forget it. Look, are you saying that guys and girls can't be just friends? That there'll always be something more involved? Like sex?'

Holly nodded. 'That's _exactly_ what I'm saying.'

Anabela shrugged. 'I like Charlie. A lot. He was just so sweet to me after the whole Ethan incident…' The two girls nodded in understanding, both having been told of the infamous Lyric event. 'He's a really good friend to me.'

'He's _just_ a really good friend?' Liv asked, pressing a little closer. 'Wouldn't you like it to be something more?'

Anabela blushed, and looked away. 'No,' she said in a little voice.

Holly laughed. 'You so do. You look like a tomato. You're totally in lurve with Mr Charles Bolton!'

Anabela glared at her. 'It's stupid of me. I know he doesn't like me in the same way.'

Liv and Holly looked at each other, amused. 

'What?' Anabela felt a little nervous at the looks her two friends were giving her. 'What did I do?'

'Oh, honey.' Holly scooted closer and patted Anabela's knee. 'That boy adores you. He's always looking at you, talking to you…'

'Yeah, because we're _friends_,' Anabela reminded her.

'Boys who are 'just friends' don't offer to sing with you in the Talent Show.' Liv smiled triumphantly, as Anabela frowned thoughtfully. 

'Well…'

Holly grinned, clapping her hands together. 'You're totally making me a bridesmaid!'

Listening to Anabela's horrified reaction from behind the auditorium door, Danielle Roberts grinned maliciously, beginning to plot Anabela Montez's downfall. She would soon understand who Charlie Bolton belonged to. 

He was coming out of the supermarket on Tuesday afternoon, balancing three heavy grocery bags in each hand, when he saw them. They were walking through the opposite park, hand in hand. She was laughing at something he had just said, gazing up at him adoringly.

Troy was surprised at the surge of jealousy he felt watching his old flame with another guy. It wasn't like he had any say over who she did or didn't date. It had been twenty years since he'd had that right. 

He felt himself scowling as the petite brunette gave the taller man a quick peck on the lips, her hands resting lightly on his shoulders. She pulled away, giggling, and Troy found himself wishing, almost irrationally, that he could've been the one to make her laugh. Her smile was contagious; his own mouth curved upwards as he watched her. She was still so beautiful; her dark hair gleamed in the afternoon sunlight, curling around her face. 

His face fell suddenly. 

_Shit_.

He was still half in love with Gabriella Montez. 

'Oh, it's Troy!' Gabriella raised her hand to wave, but the man across the street had moved away suddenly, his face slightly panicked. 

'Who?' 

She turned her attention back to Paul. Did he look a little wary? 'We went out, way back in high school. I bumped into him when I first moved back. It was so weird, to see him again…' She looked back at the spot where Troy had been standing, and shook her head, frowning. 

_Why hadn't he said hello_?

She didn't think she wanted to address how upset she was about it, not with Paul beside her. Firmly pushing all thoughts of Troy Bolton, past and present, into the back of her mind, she began to walk once more in the direction of Paul's car.

**Up next**:

_Anabela frowned. She could see Charlie, and he seemed to be listening rather intently to what the blonde girl beside him had to say. Anabela realised that it was Danielle Roberts, and felt her stomach curl. She knew somehow that something truly terrible was about to happen. And when the cheerleader moved even closer to Charlie, she could feel her heart stop. _

'Maybe you mistook her for someone else…'

'I know what I saw, Ry. She's the head cheerleader. She's beautiful, and the most sought-after girl in school. They're the perfect couple. I'll just…I'll just deal with it.'


	17. She Loves You

Chapter Seventeen: She Loves You

**A/N**: I've had a bit (read: a lot) of trouble with FF recently, so fingers crossed this chapter stays the way it's supposed to! I personally think that this chapter finally speeds up the story – it finally gets exciting and confusing and troubled and poor Anabela and Charlie are just not on the right page. Yet. Do not fear, my darlings, because there is no way I would deprive you of that fluffiness!

What do you think of this instalment? Love it? Hate it? Want to kill Danielle? Want to marry Ryan? Oh, I think that's just me. Anyway, point is, REVIEW!

This chapter's dedicated again to _ihatepeas_. You're amazing and inspiring and you have no idea how much I love you for all the positive feedback you give me.

**Previously**:

'I won't let it happen. I won't let Charles do that to himself. He simply _can't_ do it.'

Peta raised her eyebrows. 'You mean, he can't do it with _her_?'

Danielle smiled maliciously. 'Well, that may have something to do with it all. That freak is going down.' She closed her locker and turned to her friends, her blue eyes glittering dangerously. 'Girls, I have a plan.'

Now on to…

**Chapter Seventeen**

_She Loves You_

Liv caught Charlie and Anabela as they were coming out of homeroom together, her face bright with excitement.

'You guys, I've got the best news ever!'

Anabela smiled. 'Yeah? Has the cafeteria finally decided to have an all-chocolate menu for the week?'

'Has my dad gone and called off practice?' Charlie added.

'Have lessons been cancelled for the day?'

'Has the principal ruled that we won't have any more homework for the rest of the year?'

Liv glared at her friends, who were now laughing. 'No. It's about the Talent Show.'

Anabela opened her mouth to say something, but Charlie beat her to it.

'Oh yeah? That's great.'

Anabela was glaring at him, but he simply gazed back, giving her a look that plainly said, 'I'm making you doing this, no matter how much you don't want to'.

Liv looked pleased. 'It's a new song I found. I think you're going to love it. It's the perfect duet for the two of you.' She gave Anabela a meaningful glance, but Anabela was too busy evil-eyeing Charlie to register. 'Can I give you the music, Anabela?' The brunette turned her attention back to the small redhead, nodding. 'It's just that Bolton here has a family trait of losing really important items…'

Charlie scoffed. 'I don't know what you're talking about, Liv.'

Liv raised her eyebrows at him, handing the paper to Anabela. 'Your mobile.'

Charlie looked peeved. 'There was a hole in my bag.'

'Camera.'

'Again, the hole in my bag.'

'Assessments.'

Charlie pouted. Anabela had to restrain herself from jumping him, he was so cute, but instead settled with giggling. 'The hole in my bag?'

Liv smiled. 'I rest my case.' As the warning bell rang, she began to back away. 'I'll meet you in the auditorium at lunch, okay? Don't be late!' Turning around, her red hair flickered like a beacon as she ran.

_fmty_

'Oh, shit.' The minute she saw the auditorium door Anabela realised she'd left the music sheets in her locker. Liv was going to kill her. And then bring her back from the dead so she could humiliate herself in front of everyone at the Talent Show. And then kill her again.

She ran as quick as she could back to her locker, picked up the offending sheets of paper that would surely be her downfall, and raced back to the hall. She glanced into the window, crossing her fingers that Liv didn't look too mad. But Liv still wasn't there.

Anabela frowned. She could see Charlie, and he seemed to be listening rather intently to what the blonde girl beside him had to say. Anabela realised that it was Danielle Roberts, and felt her stomach curl. She knew somehow that something truly terrible was about to happen.

Danielle was coming closer to Charlie, smiling seductively. She was saying something, but the distance and the glass window prevented Anabela from hearing anything. The blonde tugged at Charlie's shirt, and tilted her head up closer. Anabela stopped breathing, watching in shock as Danielle pressed her lips to Charlie's.

It was all it took to make Anabela tear her gaze away and run back down the corridor, trying desperately not to cry.

_fmty_

'Mmuphrgh.' Charlie pushed the blonde off him, stepping back so she couldn't touch him. 'What the hell was that?'

Danielle pouted. 'It was a kiss, silly.' He glared at her, and she smiled slyly. 'Come now, Charlie, you know I like you! A lot. You're just so handsome and you know it's like _necessary_ for the captain of the basketball team to go out with the head cheerleader…'

Charlie shook his head. 'It's not _necessary_, Danielle. And I'm sorry, but…'

'But I _love_ you, Charlie!'

Charlie looked at the blonde, shocked, and began to laugh. Danielle scowled. This was not the way she had envisaged her plan to pan out.

'You don't love me, Danielle. You don't even know me.'

'I do! I know you play basketball, and, and, you're the team captain, and you're a jock, and…'

'Danielle.' Charlie's face was cold. 'No, okay? I like someone else. Someone else who actually knows things about me. Who doesn't care that I'm the captain of the basketball team, or that I sit with the jocks, or anything that's deemed socially acceptable here at East High.' He looked down at the ground. 'It could and never would be you, Danielle. I'm sorry.'

Danielle crossed her arms over her chest, her face twisted into a grimace. 'Oh, you _will_ be sorry.' Flinging her golden hair over her shoulder, she flounced out of the room, her hands curling into fists.

Charlie just sighed, running a hand through his hair.

_fmty_

'Where've you been?'

'I, um, forgot the music.' Anabela carefully averted her eyes away from Charlie, instead focusing on Liv, already seated at the piano. 'I'm so sorry, Liv.'

'Don't worry, I was late to arrive too. One of Danielle Roberts' cronies cornered me after Trig.' Liv was frowning. 'Are you alright, Anabela?'

Anabela nodded. 'Yeah, I'm fine.'

Liv raised her eyebrows, but took the music from Anabela's outstretched palm without question. 'Okay, let's do this.'

Anabela tried to engage with the song, tried to sing her best, but she knew she sounded terrible. She couldn't stop the images of Danielle, seductively making her way towards Charlie, kissing him. Anabela wasn't prone to fits of self-doubt, but having seen the blonde cheerleader working her best moves, the brunette felt inadequate. How could she have ever thought she was in Charlie's league? Of course he didn't like her; she was the freaky genius girl, after all.

Singing these lyrics hurt. Physically ached. She couldn't sing without thinking about her and Charlie, about her obviously unsolicited feelings towards him. Liv's favourite songs were all corny, about love and how it would overcome all obstacles, but Anabela was beginning to think that all of it was a lie. As far as she was concerned, the only love alive in the world was unrequited. She'd experienced it with Ethan, and now it was her turn yet again to deal with it in regards to Charlie.

Liv stopped mid-song, crossing her arms. 'Anabela. What's the matter? There's something wrong.'

Anabela rubbed her head tiredly, missing Charlie's worried face. 'I think…I think I just have a bit of a headache, is all. Look, I know I'm singing terribly. Could we do this some other time?'

Liv began to nod, opening her mouth to say something, but Anabela had already picked up her bag and was making her way down the stage steps, down the auditorium aisle and out the door.

_fmty_

The phone rang, and Anabela tore her eyes away reluctantly from the TV to answer it.

'Hello?'

'Hey, sweetie.'

Anabela couldn't help but smile, muting the sound on the television. 'Ryan! How're you?'

'Fine. You?'

'Been better. If you wanted to talk to Mom…'

'No, actually, I was calling for you. I know your mom's out with Mr Paul Drake.' He sighed dramatically. 'My heart is broken. She's gone and found her a new man to spend her nights with.'

'She still loves you more than she ever could Paul, Ry.'

He nodded. 'I know. But I wanted to know how you were faring. After the whole Ethan incident.'

'Mom told you?'

'Your mother tells me everything.'

Anabela sighed. 'I'm okay. I was really upset for a while, but I think it was bound to happen. We couldn't do the long distance relationship. It's for the best that it's all over.'

'This all sounds very positive. What's happened – you already found a new guy?'

At her pause, Ryan blinked, surprised. 'You have?'

Anabela groaned. 'It's complicated, Ry…'

'You know good and well that I have more than enough money to pay for however long this distance call will cost, missy. So spill.'

Anabela giggled. 'Well, okay. I've told you about Charlie Bolton, haven't I?'

'Troy's son? The one you were going to sing with?'

She nodded. 'That's the one.'

'God, the Montez girls must really have some genetic obsession for Bolton boys.'

Anabela rolled her eyes. 'Don't even start on it, Ryan. I'm having difficulty figuring out the weirdness factor of all that. Anyway. This isn't about Troy and Mom, it's about Charlie and I.'

Ryan smiled. 'Fire away.'

'Well, we're really close. He was so nice to me after I broke up with Ethan, and I always have a really good time when I'm with him. I thought he liked me too, but…'

'Something's happened?'

'Danielle Roberts happened,' Anabela muttered darkly. 'I saw her and him kissing today.' She groaned again. 'I feel torn between going and ripping her hair out or never seeing either of them again.'

'Oh, sweetie. That just sucks.'

'I know. What do I do, Ryan? I feel like such a fool, for liking him – he's so far out of my league. He's the school god, the number one basketball player, absolutely gorgeous…'

'Sounds like the exact replica of his father,' Ryan noted dryly.

'…and I'm just this nerd, who always does her homework, who'd prefer to spend a Friday night on the couch, reading a book or watching a movie, who worries about her mother and grandmother and falls for guys who don't actually like her in that way…'

'Those aren't bad things, Anabela. You're beautiful and intelligent and any guy who doesn't want you is plain idiotic.' He sighed. 'I know that it hurts, seeing Charlie with another girl. But the question is, do you want to lose the friendship you and Charlie have? Would you prefer if you removed him completely from your life, or…'

'No. Even as a friend, I'd just need him to be in my life.' Anabela was shocked at how certain she was at this fact. 'He's the only guy I've ever known who knows _me_, Ryan.'

'Hey, I resent that.'

'Apart from you, of course.' Anabela smiled. 'We're able to talk really easily, he can cheer me up in a second, whenever he enters the room things just seem better…'

'It sounds like you can't let him go then, sweetie.'

Anabela sighed. 'I guess not.'

'Look, you can just try to be his friend and figure out if it hurts too much.'

The brunette sighed. 'I just don't want to be pining away for him forever, Ry.'

Ryan laughed. 'So dramatic. I have taught you well.' He heard Anabela let out a weak giggle, and decided to add something. 'Maybe you should let him know how you feel. Maybe once he realises that you're into him, he'll realise what he's missing and snatch you up.'

Anabela shook her head furiously. 'No way. I know what I saw, Ry. She's the head cheerleader. She's beautiful, and the most sought-after girl in school. They're the perfect couple. I'll just…I'll just deal with it.'

'If that's what you think is best.'

Anabela nodded. 'I do. I don't want to jeopardise our friendship by saying something…Especially before the Talent Show.'

'You're singing with him, then?'

'Yeah.'

Ryan let out a girlish squeal, clapping his hands together. 'Oh, I'm so excited. You don't have any say in the matter. I'm coming down to see my gorgeous gal make her singing debut.'

'Good. I really want you there, Ry. For moral support, if anything.'

'There's nothing I'd like to do more, Anabela. I'll be there.'

**Up next**:

Whenever he smiled, no matter what, she always felt happy. Who was it that had told her that you could measure your love by how deeply you felt their emotions?

Gabriella kept her eyes on the pavement in front of her, unable to look at Troy. What was _that_? She had firmly told herself she no longer had any feelings for the blue-eyed man, despite the butterflies she would develop whenever she saw him, the small smile she couldn't help gracing her lips when she thought of him…

_Stop it_. She was going out with Paul, after all.


	18. PS I Love You

A/N: A long chapter this time, since you've kind of been waiting for this for a long time

**A/N**: You've been waiting a long time for this chapter, and hopefully it's worth it! It's extra long to thank all you lovely people who have been so good to me and left such wonderful reviews for me throughout this. Keep up the inspiring love and tell em what you think of this chapter? Did it all pan out the way you thought it would? What was your favourite part of this chapter? Have any predictions for what's coming up next?

PS. I hate to shamelessly plug, but I've started a new story, another Troyella (they're too cute to resist!), called _moments_. It's just a collection of romantic moments in their relationship, but take a look and see what you think!

-

**Previously**:

Anabela frowned. She could see Charlie, and he seemed to be listening rather intently to what the blonde girl beside him had to say. Anabela realised that it was Danielle Roberts, and felt her stomach curl. She knew somehow that something truly terrible was about to happen. And when the cheerleader moved even closer to Charlie, she could feel her heart stop.

-

Now on to…

**Chapter Eighteen**

_PS I Love You_

-

'Mom, could I borrow…'

Gabriella turned around from her dressing table to see her daughter's mouth drop open.

'Who are you and what have you done with my mother?'

Gabriella laughed as Anabela came closer, admiring the new dress. It was a deep brown satin strapless number, with a beaded trim beneath the bust line. Gabriella had paired the dress with a long gold pendant and a gold ring; her hair was tied up in a messy bun with a couple of curls escaping around her face.

'You look hot, Mom.'

'Why thank you, _bebita_. You don't look too shabby yourself.'

Anabela curtsied; she had spent a while picking out her outfit of dark jeans, black satin tank, and black and gold Alhambra necklace. Her hair fell down her shoulders in a mass of soft curls, framing her heart-shaped face.

'I was just wondering if I could borrow your gold flats,' Anabela went on, as Gabriella finished putting her make-up on.

'Sure thing.' Gabriella folded her arms as she watched her daughter balancing precariously to put on her shoes. 'So, Jake Danforth.'

'What about him?' Anabela's voice was a little muffled as she bent over to fix the bottom of her jeans.

'I didn't think you knew him that well.'

Anabela shrugged, running her fingers through her hair. 'Well, I don't, really. But he has the house to himself while you young things go out for your 'Wildcat Reunion'. And he is Charlie's best friend, _and_ Charlie did invite me to come along for the night, so…'

Gabriella raised her eyebrows. 'How are things with the two of you?'

Her daughter sighed. 'You know. Awkward.' She had told her mother everything, about seeing Charlie and Danielle together, about the terrible music practice, about how her heart was breaking in two…Gabriella laughed despite her daughter's crushed face, and told her she'd been spending far too much time talking to Ryan. 'I wish it wasn't, and I'm trying my hardest not to make it a big deal, but whenever I see him I see _her_ as well.'

'Well, he invited you tonight. That has to count for something, right?'

'Just because he's going out with the most popular girl in school doesn't mean we can't be friends. That's all this is.' Anabela glared at her mother, who was obviously trying to conceal a smile. 'It is!'

'Sure, sure.'

Anabela humphed and turned to her mom's mirror, examining her reflection. 'Anyway, Liv's coming along. For moral support.'

'So you two can scream wildly when Charlie declares his undying love?'

Anabela glared at Gabriella. 'Mom. Charlie and I are just friends. Go tell Ryan to stop infiltrating your mind with spectacular love proposals. Okay?'

Gabriella couldn't help but laugh; despite being Neil's daughter, she saw much more of her blonde best friend in the young woman in front of her. His dramatics had become hers, his loyal love imprinted on Anabela's own values.

'Well, I'm headed to the restaurant. Want a lift?'

_fmty_

A fierce Taylor had told Jake that if she came home to a trashed house and an emotionally scarred younger brother, she would make sure he would not see life outside of the house and school for the next decade. With that in mind, Jake had seen Jordan off to a friend's house for a sleepover, made sure that Jesse was fed and asleep in bed, and warned the group that if the house looked different when his mom came home, they could be expecting some serious practical jokes in the next week.

Two hours later, the teenagers downstairs in the crowded living room had taken to playing truth or dare, their honesty and challenges helped along by the half-bottle of vodka Connor had taken from his parent's liquor cabinet. Now empty, the bottle was used to spin and pick the next victim required to choose between spilling a secret or subjecting themselves to humiliation.

Anabela was laughing; Charlie had been making her giggle all night, and she was trying her hardest to ignore the Danielle Roberts situation. She could be happy just being friends with him.

She just had to convince herself of that fact.

She turned her attention to the squabble in the middle of the circle. Connor and his girlfriend Julia were watching the scene unfold in front of them, their faces identical in their amusement. Jake was a riot now that the vodka had loosened him up, and seeing him and Liv arguing passionately were causing the rest of the group to fall into hysterics.

'Just because you're a lunkhead basketball man does not mean that you own the school!' Liv's cheeks were flushed a pretty pink as she continued to squabble with the eldest Danforth.

'We are the glue that holds the school together! Wildcat spirit and all that!' Jake defended.

'Oh, puh-lease. You have no idea about anything that doesn't revolve around you, do you? Don't you get the fact that there are people at East High that are still able to join together in school spirit without having to crowd in a stinky, sweaty school gym yelling on a bunch of immature boys run around a court? You are _not_ the glue of East High, and you're never going to be!'

Jake was looking hurt. 'We're not a bunch of immature boys!'

'The very fact that you just referred to yourself as "glue" pretty much speaks for itself!' Liv argued back.

Charlie and Anabela glanced at each other, barely able to contain their laughter. He leant closer, so his breath tickled her ear, murmuring, 'They're meant for each other, don't you think?'

Anabela giggled, carefully ignoring the shivers that trickled down her spine as his warm breath was focused on the shell of her ear. 'They just don't know it yet.'

He smiled at her, placing a large, warm hand on her knee. The smile immediately dropped from Anabela's face; her breathing became shallow. She couldn't ignore the jolt that shot through her body at that very touch.

Okay, so maybe she couldn't forget the whole Danielle Roberts thing after all. Not when he was staring at her with those eyes, his lips tugging at the corner into that smile that made her melt…

She closed her eyes and turned her head away, suddenly finding it difficult to breathe. His hand was still on her knee, large and warm, and she could feel his other hand press her lower back slightly as he asked quietly, 'You okay, Bella?'

Would a friend really touch her lower back like that? Anabela didn't think so. But he had been making out with the head cheerleader only a few days ago! What the hell was he playing at? She didn't think she could deal with it anymore.

'Anabela?'

God, even his voice made her spine tingle. It was too much. She had to get out of there.

'I have to get some air,' Anabela announced abruptly, standing quickly. The group were looking at her rather strangely, but she didn't really care at this moment. All she knew was that she had to get as far from Charlie Bolton as possible.

This the only thought on her mind, the brunette strode out of the room, not looking back.

_fmty_

Troy was looking very delicious tonight, it had to be said.

'You look very delicious tonight,' Gabriella told him, smiling a little goofily.

'Why, thank you.' He grinned down at her, and she almost shook her head at how gorgeous he still was.

'Even better when you do that.'

He laughed. 'I think the fact that you're on your third vodka and tonic also helps.'

Gabriella frowned at the half-empty glass in front of her, suddenly noticing the fact that her legs did feel a little unsteady, that the bartender seemed to be followed by a little fuzzy shadow, and that she had a feeling that she was about to burst into uncontrollable giggles at any moment.

'Hmm, maybe.' She smiled up at him. 'You know that I've never been able to hold my liquor well.'

He nodded, a sly smile gracing his lips. 'I do know that. Rather well, in fact.'

She laughed. 'You were trained young. All those pink jellies at Chad's parties. I came into the whole drinking scene too late.' He was laughing, but she was looking around her. 'Where is Chad, by the way? And Taylor? And Zeke and Rachel?'

Troy couldn't help but smile at the quite-tipsy, but still ever-gorgeous, woman in front of him. 'Zeke and Rachel went back home after we left the restaurant. Do you remember? He has to wake up early tomorrow. And Chad and Taylor are there.' He pointed at one of the many dark corners of the bar, where Gabriella could just make out two Chad and Taylor shapes cuddled on a big leather lounge, making out.

'Oh, they're doing us oldies proud.'

Troy laughed. 'We're not so old, Gabi.'

She shrugged; her movements were looser when she was drunk – Troy thought that the fluidity was beautiful, graceful, like a dancer's, and realised that perhaps he wasn't as sober as he had initially thought. 'Maybe not. Sometimes I feel old, though. Looking at Anabela, you know? So young. But I can remember being her age so clearly.'

'It's completely cliché, isn't it, saying that your high school years were the best of your life?'

Gabriella nodded, raising an eyebrow at him. 'But you think they were?'

Troy laughed. 'They're definitely up there.'

An old song started to play on the ancient jukebox in the corner, and Gabriella's face lit up. 'Oh, I love this song! Dance with me, please?'

Troy nodded. 'Sure.'

She stood, then stumbled a little, frowning. 'Um, maybe not.' She looked up to him. 'Perhaps we should go home. My car's parked not far from here.'

Troy laughed. 'There's no way I'm letting you drive home in this state, Gabi.'

She looked happy. '_You'll_ drive me home!'

He shook his head. 'I'm way over the limit.'

Gabriella pouted. 'Why am I acting like a drunk idiot, then, and you're still the calm, beautiful Troy?'

He laughed, but didn't answer her. 'I'll walk you home. It's fifteen minutes away.'

She nodded. 'Okay. Maybe that's a good idea. Fresh air and all.'

He took her coat from the back of her chair and, holding her elbow, led her outside. He convinced himself that this was a friendly thing to do. He was going to ignore all these feelings he had towards her, that conjured up memories of their youth, ignore the fact that he was still wildly attracted to her. He was taking her home so she didn't get into trouble. He was taking her home _as a friend_. Nothing more. Besides, his feelings for her _could_ have nothing to do with it. She had been speaking about Dr Paul Drake all evening.

He'd take her home, make sure she was safe, then go and douse himself in cold water.

_fmty _

'Bella!' She turned her head away from the sink to see Charlie, his face worried, making his way up to her. 'Are you okay?'

Anabela nodded, looking back out the kitchen window into the dark night. 'I'm fine.'

'You don't seem fine.' His sharp tone made her look back, but his eyes were soft with concern. 'You've been acting a little strangely all night. You know you can tell me if there's anything wrong, don't you?'

She moved so she was leaning on the kitchen counter, staring at the blue-eyed boy in front of her intently. The words were out of her mouth before she realised. 'Truth or dare, Charlie?'

He looked a little confused, but she could see he was willing to play along. 'Truth.'

'Are you and Danielle Roberts going out?'

He looked surprised. 'Of course not. Why would you think…' His mouth dropped open; understanding dawning on his face. 'Don't tell me that you think…that the other day, at practice…'

Anabela looked away, shaking her head. 'I don't know what I think anymore, Charlie. But I know what I saw. You guys kissed. And that's great, if you're happy, but please, don't get me involved. Stop stringing me along like this! If you just want to be friends, then, fine, okay, I'll pull back a little. But don't touch my knee like we're involved, like we're anything more than friends, because we're obviously not since you and Danielle Roberts…'

'Anabela.' It was his rare use of her real name that caused her to turn back to Charlie, suddenly a lot closer than he had been before. 'There's nothing going on between Danielle and I.'

'I can't believe that, Charlie. I mean, she's gorgeous. You two are the perfect couple; the basketball star and the head cheerleader. I'm not going to be mad if you like her in that way – just tell me!'

'I'm trying to tell you, but you're not listening! Anabela, she forced herself on me; I pushed her off. Because there's someone else I like. Who is so much more than Danielle Roberts ever could be. Okay?'

Anabela folded her arms; she knew she was pouting and near to tears but she couldn't help it. This guy, this amazing guy, was standing in front of her telling her about some other fantastic girl he wanted to go out with. What was wrong with her to make her choose the wrong guy all the time? The guy that always liked another prettier girl?

'Well, I'm happy for you, then.'

His eyes were still frowned in anxiety. 'You don't look too happy.'

She groaned, tugging at her hair in frustration. 'Just leave it be, Charlie. I…I don't think I can talk about this anymore.'

'Why not?'

'Because I can't stand here listening to you go on about some other girl when I…' Anabela bit her lip, glancing down at her feet.

'When you what?' His voice was near-pleading. 'Bella, please.' She gulped deeply, and heard him sigh. 'You asked me; it's only fair that I get to ask you.' She looked up at him, unable to breathe. What did he mean by that? 'Truth or dare.'

'Truth.' Her voice was very quiet.

'Why won't you tell me what's wrong?'

She was quiet for a moment, but she knew she had to tell him this; she had to get her real feelings out into the open. It was too painful to lose him yet again to someone else, their friendship be damned. She wanted, she needed, she _craved_, something more from him.

She took a deep breath, her words a little jumbled and slow. 'Charlie, I can't listen to you go on about some other girl, because, _I_ want to be that girl. Okay? I've liked you for so long now, and every single time we talk I just fall even harder for you, and I just can't stand here listening to you when you're just so perfect and lovely and I _know_ that you don't feel the same way, and that this has probably ruined our friendship and I'm so so so sorry for that, but I really like you and I just…' She trailed off a little. 'I just needed you to know.'

Her chin was caught with his hand, and she looked up into those big, cerulean eyes, suddenly nervous and a little afraid.

He was smiling. 'Oh, Bella.' He tucked a strand of her hair back behind her ear tenderly; her skin prickled where his fingers had touched. 'Don't you see? You _are_ that other girl.' He chuckled a little at her startled face. 'You're the reason why I pushed Danielle Roberts away. It was never, ever her, Bella. From the minute I crashed into you that day, it has, and always will be, you.'

Anabela wanted to pinch herself; was Charlie Bolton really declaring this to her, right here, in the Danforths' kitchen? But she could feel her palms sweating, feel his breath, warm on her forehead, as he placed a soft kiss near her temple, and it had to be real. It just had to.

He looked deep into her eyes, conveying so much in that one look that Anabela suddenly felt teary again. She touched his face with her hand, just to make sure he really was there, looking at her in that intense way, and he leant into her palm. It was so comfortably quiet between them; there was nothing else that needed to be said. Their confessions had melded into the marble floor of the Danforths' kitchen, and the silence caught among their faces spoke of hope and happiness.

Charlie began to lean forward, his lips ghosting hers, when there was a loud crash from nearby, scaring the two apart. Anabela glanced back at the door, watching as Liv emerged, her red hair even brighter than usual.

'Shit, where's a towel?' She was looking rather panicked. 'I just dropped my glass and, oh, shit, I need a towel.'

Anabela moved closer to her friend. 'Are you okay, Liv?'

Liv frowned. 'Um, I'm not too sure, actually.' She sank into the nearest chair, all thoughts of a towel obviously wiped from her mind. 'Please tell me that Jake Danforth did _not_ just admit he remembered me playing 'Baa Baa Black Sheep' for him when I was five…'

'That was _you_?'

Anabela shot Charlie an amused look; the boy's expression was a bizarre combination of shock and delight.

'Please tell me that Jake Danforth did _not_ just admit that he had a crush on me after I played 'Baa Baa Black Sheep' for him when I was five…' Liv went on, her eyes focused on the opposite wall.

'Well, sweetie, I wasn't exactly there…' Anabela began, but Liv cut her off again.

'Please tell me that Jake Danforth did _not_, while he was playing truth or dare, admit that he still liked me!'

Anabela's mouth dropped open. 'He did what!?'

Liv looked up at her frantically. 'I told you not to tell me!'

There was a cough at the door, and the three turned to see a blushing Jake standing in the doorway awkwardly. His eyes lingered on Liv. Charlie wordlessly took Anabela's hand, moving to the door and his best friend.

'We'll leave you two to figure it out, shall we?' he said cheerfully as he and Anabela left the room, the couple struggling to keep the pleased smiles off their faces.

_fmty_

Gabriella was giggling. 'I heard a funny joke the other day.'

Troy raised his eyebrows. 'Yeah?'

'Mmhmm.' She stopped walking; turned to face him. 'Knock knock.'

'Who's there?'

'The interrupting cow.'

'The interrupting co-'

'Moo!'

She laughed at his confused face, loving the way his eyes crinkled up at the corners as he began to smile. Whenever he smiled, no matter what, she always felt happy. Who was it that had told her that you could measure your love by how deeply you felt their emotions?

Gabriella kept her eyes on the pavement in front of her, unable to look at Troy. What was _that_? She had firmly told herself she no longer had any feelings for the blue-eyed man, despite the butterflies she would develop whenever she saw him, the small smile she couldn't help gracing her lips when she thought of him…

_Stop it_. She was going out with Paul. Lovely, handsome, charming Paul, who was possibly the first man after Neil she really truly liked.

She sneaked a glance back up at Troy. She could trace their history together in the contours of his face. She could remember his face when it was unlined and smooth, but she preferred him now, all grown-up and wise, the laughter-lines around his eyes a testament to how he liked to live life.

Despite this, there was a sadness lingering around his mouth. Gabriella had allowed herself to imagine, many times, during cold nights curled up alone in bed, what her life would've been like if she had stayed with Troy, if she had tried to make things work. It seemed almost unimaginable now, with him this close, leaving a lingering scent on her coat she knew would last through till morning. They had their separate children, their separate careers, their separate families…

But still she felt a pull to him.

'Do you remember the first time we met?' She was too tipsy to be embarrassed by her own question. Despite her slightly blurred vision, her mind was remarkably lucid.

He smiled at her. 'Of course. The minute you started singing I couldn't believe I had almost walked off that stage. You lit up the room.'

Her memories of that night were still so clear; Troy in his brown jacket, looking adorably awkward as he began the song. She had been amazed at just how good-looking he was, and how uncomfortable she felt next to him. And then they'd started singing, and he'd made her feel like she was the only person in the world he had wanted to be with at that moment. She still got shivers thinking of how intently he had gazed at her. And she had known. She had fallen in love with him at that instant. She felt the pull; the pull she still felt now. She had known they were from two different worlds, that there were so many things that separated them from each other, but she hadn't cared. She'd _known_.

Was it possible for her to be feeling the same emotions, more than twenty years later? Life had progressed from superficial problems that had split the two in high school; there was work and children and the distance between the two to think about now. But again, she couldn't care less. It wasn't the alcohol talking. She still knew.

'Is this thing…with you and Paul. Is it serious?' Troy's face was the epitome of casual curiosity, but his eyes betrayed his hope and fear of her response.

Gabriella couldn't help but smile. 'If you'd asked me at the beginning of the night, I would've said yes. Now, I'm not so sure.'

Troy frowned. 'Why?'

Gabriella stopped walking, folding her arms across her chest to keep away the cold. 'There's a pull.'

He was frowning again. 'A pull?'

She knew she had to get this out into the open. 'I can't…I can't get you out of my head, Troy.' Unsure of his face, she began to backtrack. 'Being back here is just making me remember things and…'

'You can feel this too?' His face was still difficult to read. 'This…pull?'

Gabriella nodded, unable to speak.

'I think…' He looked away, breathed deeply, then turned back to her. He was so close. 'I think I still love you. I don't think I ever stopped.'

Her heart beat out a thrilled, fretful, eager rhythm. Her breathing was coming in short, shallow bursts. She didn't think she could control this tight tension in her stomach, threatening to spill over. As he moved impossibly closer, she closed her eyes.

His lips brushed against hers gently. It was familiar and foreign, sweet and yet insubstantial. He brought his hand to grasp the back of her head, and deepened the kiss, his tongue delighting against hers.

It was too much. It was not nearly enough. It was home.

As he pulled away, lingering near her mouth, watching her with careful cerulean eyes, she felt her two halves, split irrevocably twenty years ago, finally mending.

-

**Up next**:

Silently she climbed the stairs, her suede flats making no noise on the soft carpet, listening to the sounds become louder. It was a definite squeaking noise, mingled with fitful groans. She came to Paul's bedroom door, holding her breath. Did she really want to know what was behind the door?

_Did she already know_?

Fighting the urge to run away, Gabriella swung the door open, gasping at the sight in front of her.


	19. She Came In Through The Bathroom Window

Chapter Nineteen: Baby, It's You (also She Came In Through The Bathroom Window)

**A/N**: Wow, it's been ages! I am so so so sorry – I got a bitch of a writer's block a couple of weeks back and haven't been able to get anything coherent out. This story's nearing its end and I think I might be having a little trouble letting the characters go…

Lots of you were guessing as to what was going to happen in this chapter; maybe my plot twist wasn't as surprising as I thought it'd be! Hopefully it's as good as you hoped – and I made the chapter extra long to thank you all for your patience and loveliness despite my unreliability in updating!

As always, tell me what you think – what's your favourite scene in this instalment? What are you thinking will happen next? And I'll send cyber cookies to whoever names the phrase/s I took directly from _High School Musical_.

One last thing: I've dedicated this to _ihatepeas_, not only because she's so wonderful to me, but also because she made my 100th review!

-

**Previously**:

Whenever he smiled, no matter what, she always felt happy. Who was it that had told her that you could measure your love by how deeply you felt their emotions?

Gabriella kept her eyes on the pavement in front of her, unable to look at Troy. What was _that_? She had firmly told herself she no longer had any feelings for the blue-eyed man, despite the butterflies she would develop whenever she saw him, the small smile she couldn't help gracing her lips when she thought of him…

_Stop it_. She was going out with Paul, after all.

-

Now on to…

**Chapter Nineteen**

_She Came In Through The Bathroom Window_

-

The rooster crowed again. Gabriella groaned and whacked the alarm clock as hard as she could with her fist. It emitted a muffled squawk, but thankfully remained quiet.

Opening her eyes and gazing at the ceiling, watching the morning sunlight play across the white plaster, Gabriella wondered exactly how many hours of sleep she'd managed last night. She thought it was perhaps a grand total of two. Her mind had been buzzing, alive with too many thoughts and emotions crammed into such a tiny space.

She sighed, rubbing her eyes and feeling the heavy weight of regret press down on her chest. What made her do what she did last night? Why had she kissed Troy?

_Because you've been wanting to, craving to, ever since you saw him for the first time after twenty years spent apart_.

Gabriella shook her head, refusing to listen to the quiet voice.

_You did the right thing. _It was another voice, louder and more confidant than the other. _You pulled away. Whatever happened between you and Troy is in the past. Nothing can happen between you now. You're with Paul_.

She didn't want to remember last night, but the images were there, seeping through her eyelids, playing out against the darkness.

_Her mouth felt bruised. Her heart was full. She could barely believe that this was happening. Him with his new life, her with hers…separate entities. She began to feel anxious. Could they make their lives unite? Could they both find happiness together? After so long apart? After so much of their lives lived independently? _

_As he leant down to press his lips to hers once more, she took a step back. She could barely believe that she was dong this again, running from him yet again, but this panic fluttering in her stomach could not be ignored. _

_'Troy…'_

_He was amazing, really, the way that he could understand so much about her just by looking into her face; reading her gaze._

_His expression had transformed from simple delight to apprehension. 'Gabi…'_

_She looked down at her feet, her throat already constricted with the onset of hot tears. _

_He tried again. 'Gabriella…'_

_'We can't do this Troy. Our lives are too separate. I live in Boston. I have a daughter. I hardly know anything about you. I mean, I haven't seen you for twenty years. We can't do this.' She was babbling, and she knew he knew it. It made her despise herself._

_'You know more about me than anyone else.' He looked desperate. 'Gabriella. Don't do this again.' He shook his head, trying to understand. 'What about the pull?'_

_She waved it away. 'I was being stupid; irrational. I have Anabela now, and Paul.'_

_She felt a pain in her gut as he physically flinched at the name. _

_'I can't do this to them. I told Anabela we'd be moving back to Boston. Back to her home. And Paul…I think I love him, Troy.'_

_His gaze was harsh. 'I just told you I loved you, Gabriella. And, hell, it seemed like for a minute you did too. You can't just turn around and say something like that, after all that's happened!' _

_She knew the tears would start to fall at any moment. _

_'You told me that whatever it is between you and Paul, that it isn't serious. What, were you just making that up? What were we just doing, Gabriella?' He was so angry; she could see him tremble as he ran a hand through his hair. 'All that just then. It didn't mean anything to you?'_

_She shook her head. 'Troy, of course it meant something…'_

_'Then why are you doing this? Why are you making excuses for something that's obviously so right? Something that we both feel and know?' He was pleading now. _

_She wouldn't let the tears fall in front of him. 'I can't, Troy.'_

_He grabbed her hand; held it so tight it would've hurt if she didn't feel so numb. 'Don't run away again, Gabi. Don't do it.'_

_She forced herself to look into his eyes, their stormy blue depths. 'I already have.'_

She needed to see Paul. She needed confirmation that he loved her, that what they were doing was right. That what she had done last night, pulling away, walking away from Troy, had been the right thing to do. She needed to see his face, to kiss him, to make sure that he was right here with her.

She'd go see him the minute she got some Advil for her hangover.

_fmty_

Anabela walked to the park's basketball courts, nervous and a little shy. She hadn't been able to speak to Charlie alone after Liv and Jake had barged in on them in the kitchen the night before, and despite feeling positive he would kiss her goodbye, no such thing had occurred. After replaying his words from last night over and over in her head, all so genuine and sweet, she knew she was being ridiculous, worrying about it, but when she got his text this morning asking her to meet him at the courts, she couldn't help but feel a little freaked out.

She could see him up ahead, ever gorgeous in jeans and a dark blue tee that she knew would emphasise his cobalt eyes. If she singled out the one thing she loved about Charlie, it would be those eyes. Closely followed by his laugh, his charm, his smile, his caring attitude…everything about him, really.

She knew she was acting like a love-struck fool. But after all those emotions exchanged last night, could she really be held accountable for smiling whenever she thought of him? For letting her cereal go soggy as she got lost in remembering last night? For hardly registering her mother's hasty disappearance that morning?

He smiled as she came closer, those gorgeous dimples appearing in his cheeks.

'Hey.'

'Hey yourself.'

She didn't want this to be awkward. She didn't want their friendship, their easy way of talking about anything, to just disappear because of their nighttime confessions. It would just kill her.

He lifted up a basketball she had failed to notice before. 'I thought I might teach you how to play ball.'

She raised her eyebrows at him. 'And what makes you think I don't already know how?'

He looked adorably confused for a second. 'Because you would've told me already?'

She giggled, looking down at her denim cut-offs and lacy cream tank. 'You're lucky I didn't decide to wear a skirt. Because that would've been…interesting.'

He grinned at her cheekily. 'You know, I consider it very _un_fortunate for me that you didn't…'

She laughed, swatting him on the shoulder. 'Dirty.'

He laughed with her, and then handed her the ball. 'I want you to shoot a hoop.'

Shaking back her dark curls, Anabela shrugged. 'Sounds easy enough.'

He turned her around to face the post, telling her how to place her legs, and to bend her knees as she released the ball. He loved the way that when she became determined about something, she'd bite the corner of her lip in concentration.

Anabela shot the ball into the air, watching as it fell through the hoop perfectly. Charlie's face fell.

'So you do know how to play!'

Anabela turned around, smiling. 'You know, I once scored 41 points on a league game.'

Charlie's mouth dropped open. 'No way!'

Anabela nodded seriously. 'Mmhmm. Yeah, and on the same day I invented the space shuttle and microwaved popcorn.'

At his face, she began to laugh, hard.

'You're going to pay for that, Bella.'

She shrieked, darting away as he began to chase her around the court, yelling out threats. Despite her best efforts, he was fitter and bigger than her, and caught up with her all too easily as she made her way onto the grass. Grabbing her around the waist, he spun her in the air, laughing at her squeals.

'Tell me that I am the best basketball teacher in the world.'

She rolled her eyes. 'Charlie, I'm not…'

He raised his eyebrows at her. 'I'll tickle you.'

She frowned, her eyes glinting with delight. 'You wouldn't.'

'Oh, I would.'

She giggled. 'Charlie, you're the best basketball teacher in the world. How else would I, the klutz of East High, be able to get the ball even remotely close to the net the first time round?' Charlie looked pleased, but she decided to add a little on. 'It wouldn't have anything to do with a lovely little mathematical fact called chance…'

'Oh, you're in for it now!' Charlie attacked her, tickling her with all his might. She was laughing so hard she didn't even notice the pain as she fell onto the grass, pulling Charlie down with her.

'Stop! Stop, Charlie!'

He pinned her arms to the ground, smiling. 'Why should I?'

She grinned gleefully. 'Because you're my boyfriend and you love me.'

Charlie brushed a curl back behind her ear, smiling softly. 'Good answer.'

Anabela giggled. 'I thought so.'

He looked at her intently, those blue eyes searching hers. Anabela's laughter soon faded away, and she felt wonderfully trapped in the moment, never wanting to be released from that beautiful stare. She felt as though he could understand everything within her, that by simply looking at her he could reach into her soul and find the very depths of who she was.

She felt breathless. She felt as if she would explode if he didn't kiss her in the next five point two seconds. Bringing her head up so their foreheads touched, she gazed at his lips. They moved impossibly closer, when suddenly Charlie's head was pulled away with a thud.

'Ow!'

The basketball bounced a few feet away, and Anabela and Charlie, the latter rubbing his head angrily, turned to the basketball court. Jake and Connor were watching them, amused grins on their faces.

'What the hell, Jake?'

The dark-skinned boy simply grinned. 'What else was going to get you two lovebirds apart?'

Charlie and Anabela looked at each other, smiling. He was probably right.

_fmty_

Gabriella knocked on Paul's front door, but there was no reply. She sighed in frustration. Why the hell wasn't he answering his cell? She needed to talk to him.

Sitting on the cool marble step, Gabriella decided to wait for him to come home. Anabela was out, and her mother had been bustling around the kitchen making chocolate brownies when she'd left, already so much better than she'd been a month ago when she finished the treatment. Gabriella wouldn't be missed for a while longer.

She'd started a game of Sudoku on her phone when she heard a crash coming from Paul's second-story window. Standing up suddenly, Gabriella pricked her ears for any more noise. Hearing a sputter of laughter, Gabriella knocked on the door again.

If Paul was in there, then she needed to speak with him. Even if he was with someone else, she needed to see him. So, feeling rather daring, Gabriella ran her hand across the doorframe, fingers searching out metal. She took the spare key down, trying not to smile. Paul could be so predictable sometimes. She unlocked the door and swung it open, her heart thudding in her chest.

The house was quiet and cool, but she could still hear a faint noise coming from above her. Was it squeaking?

She knew she should've called out. Made sure that it was Paul upstairs. It was wrong, after all, to walk through someone else's home while they were out. Especially when you technically didn't have a key to get inside.

But she couldn't help herself. Silently she climbed the stairs, her suede flats making no noise on the soft carpet, listening to the sounds become louder. It was a definite squeaking noise, mingled with fitful groans. She came to Paul's bedroom door, holding her breath. Did she really want to know what was behind the door?

_Did she already know_?

Fighting the urge to run away, Gabriella swung the door open, gasping at the sight in front of her.

Arms and legs tangled on rumpled sheets. Blonde hair across the pillowcase. Loud sighs and grunts. Long, thrusting movements. And a distinctive dark-haired head, moving down the blonde's body, placing sloppy kisses on her bare skin.

The blonde's eyes opened, and for a moment she stared at Gabriella, her body still. And then she moved.

'Oh my God!' She pushed Paul off her roughly and bringing the sheets up to hide herself. 'You said we were alone!'

Paul turned quickly to see Gabriella, her hand still covering her mouth in disbelief. _But was she really shocked_?

'Gabriella!' He tried to cover himself, and she almost rolled her eyes. It was far too late for that now. 'What…what are you doing here?'

Gabriella blinked at him. Did she really believe that she had known this man? Believed herself in love with him? _She'd run from Troy for_ this?

'How long?' she found herself asking.

Paul looked away. 'A while.'

She realised she really didn't want to know. She also realised that her heart, which had felt so heavy since she had awoken, felt lighter. She noticed that Paul was looking back at her, his eyes desperate.

'I'm sorry, Gabriella.'

She smiled. He looked confused. This wasn't the way it usually went. He had scars to show the standard reaction – something was inevitably thrown at him. Last time, it had been his favourite Ikea lamp. The time before, it had been his favourite 'I'm the Boss' mug. Predictably, one of his favourite possessions ended up broken and _he_ ended up bleeding.

But as Miranda or Melanie or whatever her name was simmered behind him, Gabriella simply stood in front of him, smiling.

'I'm sorry too, Paul.'

_fmty_

Troy was officially depressed. Usually he found it easy to get out of bed, but this morning he had curled beneath the covers and wished he could return to the world of sleep. He'd gotten up two hours later than he usually would, and ignored a call from Zeke and then Chad. He sat in front of the TV, still just in his boxers, for an hour until he realised he hadn't actually turned the set on yet, and then became so disgusted with himself he made himself take a long, cold shower and change into some clean clothes.

He was trying to convince himself he actually felt like lunch, watching the rain pound outside, when there was an abrupt crash from his bedroom.

Suddenly filled with adrenaline, heart pounding, Troy moved silently towards his bedroom, wishing he had a baseball bat or something dangerous with him. There was another crash, and Troy opened his door carefully, his right hand closed in a fist just in case.

There was no one in there. Checking behind the door, Troy looked around his room, puzzled. Maybe he was depressed _and_ losing his mind. That'd be just what he needed. To go completely off his rocker and have Charlie witness both his parents spiral into a quick death.

And then the bathroom door opened. And Troy couldn't believe his eyes.

'Gabriella?'

She gasped, putting a hand to her heart. 'God, Troy, you scared me.'

He wanted to crack a smile at the fact that there wasn't any beefy robber looking to steal his TV, it was just this petite, beautiful brunette, but he was still bitter from her actions last night.

'Says she who broke into my house.'

Gabriella bit her lip. 'I knocked on the door, but there was no response.' _Had he really been that immersed in his own world? _'And I didn't want to wait outside, because it was raining…' She looked down at her sodden clothes. 'Although I really was soaked before I even came. That rain's been coming down pretty hard for a while now.' She looked back up at Troy, at his stony face. 'I needed to talk to you, Troy.'

'How did you get in?'

'Um…' She blushed. 'I climbed in through your bathroom window.' He raised his eyebrows at her, and she giggled in spite of herself. 'I know. But it was the only one that was open and that I could actually manage to haul myself through, although I think some of your cologne may be a little worse for wear.' She rubbed her knee. 'This too.'

He couldn't do this. He couldn't have her here, smiling at him as if nothing was wrong, that nothing happened between them last night. He couldn't look at her. He knew that if he did, he'd forgive her without question, and he refused to let himself do that. It was too hard.

He sat down on his bed, rubbing his temples. 'Why are you here, Gabriella?'

Her voice was quiet. 'I needed to talk to you.'

'Did you think that maybe I don't want to talk to you?

She bit her lip. 'Yes.' She swallowed, hard. 'But that was why I needed to come, Troy.' He didn't respond. He didn't even look up. And so she decided to keep talking. 'I've been wandering around in the rain for the past two hours, Troy, thinking about us. Thinking about everything that was said last night. I wanted to be with you, Troy. I really did. When you kissed me…' She watched as he flinched a little, and her voice became gentler. 'When you kissed me, I felt like I'd come home. I felt like the twenty years that we'd been apart had never happened. That it was meant to be.'

'Then why did you leave?' His voice was hushed and hollow. 'If you felt all of that, why did you leave?'

Gabriella shrugged. 'Why did I leave the first time, Troy? I was scared. That first time, I was scared that we couldn't make it together. That we'd fall into a big black hole of hatred. And this time…I was just as scared about everything that could keep us apart.'

She stepped a little closer. 'We have kids now, Troy. I live in a completely different state to you. I promised Anabela we'd go home. I didn't want you to have to make the decision about staying or leaving, and I didn't want to have to go over the whole long-distance thing again.' She looked down at her hands. 'Besides, I was with Paul.'

He still wasn't looking at her. 'Was?'

She sighed. 'I walked in on him cheating this morning. Turned out he wasn't quite the guy I thought he was.'

Troy was quiet.

'I didn't realise that I had found the right guy for me, Troy. I've been trying to ignore it for the past twenty years. But it's been you all along. You're this amazing guy who cares so deeply and has been through so much and still can smile and find the little joys in life, who is utterly beautiful and has the most expressive eyes I have ever seen despite all the horrible stuff I've put you through in the past, you still forgive me. You still love so hard, Troy.'

'Gabriella…' He pinched the bridge of his nose, and looked up at her. 'I don't think I can forgive you this time. Last night…'

'Last night was simultaneously the best and worst night of my life, Troy. Revealing my feelings to you, to have them reciprocated…it was amazing. But it was stupid to have let you go. I keep doing it! I keep letting the most perfect guy get away; I keep running away, all because of fear. I decide that things will be too difficult and I let myself be content, but never truly happy. The only times I've ever felt like I can be really, honestly, truly happy is when I'm with you, Troy. And I want to be happy. I don't want to keep on living a half-life without you in it. I want it all, Troy. I know I have no right to ask this of you, now, after everything, but…'

She physically ached to see his face, twisted and crushed. She had broken his heart twice already. Who was she, to have the nerve to ask for it once more?

'How do I know that tomorrow you won't run away again? How do I know that this time, you'll stay?' His face was so vulnerable. She wanted to scoop him up and hold him till the end of time.

'I don't know.' She swallowed thickly. 'You have to trust me, Troy.'

His voice was quiet. 'I don't know if I can.'

She didn't know that her tears were so close, but here they were, suddenly, inevitably, splashing down her face. 'The time wasn't right for us back then, Troy, but it is now. I know it. It's taken us twenty years to come back together, but this is it. It's like you said last night. This is right. We both _know_ this is right. I'm standing right here, and I promise you I'm not going to go anywhere. Because there isn't anywhere else for me to go.' She bit her lip. 'If I can't go with you, Troy, I don't want to go at all.'

He was torn. She could see the conflicting emotions play out across his face.

'I love you, Troy. I always have. I don't think I ever stopped.' She smiled a little sadly. 'I'm sorry it's taken me this long to realise it.'

They fell into a tense silence: him staring at his hands, as she watched him staring at his hands, her heart so loud. And then he pushed himself from the bed. He strode towards her, his expression unreadable. He searched her face, those eyes intense and stormy and she was afraid. Afraid that she'd blown it. That he would never come back to her. That this was it. This was where their story ended.

'Why is it that I can never stay angry at you, Gabriella Montez?' His voice was so quiet Gabriella felt it was part of her own self. 'Why can I forgive you, after everything?'

She sniffled, the tears still flowing. 'I don't know. You shouldn't. You should hate me.'

His eyes were wet also. 'But yet…' He brushed a dripping curl back behind her ear, a small smile creeping across his face. 'I still love you.'

She felt new tears, of hope and happiness and joy. 'You do?'

He shook his head, smiling. 'I do.'

She launched herself at his lips, kissing him with abandon. She touched his hair, his warm skin, his kisses making her toes curl, and he rejoiced in the feel of her, so close. He trembled with emotion, delighting in her tongue sweeping across his mouth, at her fingers playing with the strands of his hair.

He pulled away and buried his face in her neck, inhaling her scent.

She let out a breathy giggle. 'You're shaking, Troy.' He nodded, and she smiled. 'What's this? Could the Wildcat superstar be _afraid_?'

He looked back at her, at her joyous face and beautiful eyes and dazzling promise. 'Afraid? No, I'm not afraid. Just…scared.'

She grinned. 'That makes the two of us.'

'But you're not going to run away?' Just to be sure. Just so he knew she would still be here, beside him, in the morning.

Gabriella shook her head. 'No way. There's no place I'd rather be.'

-

**Up next**:

She uncrossed her arms; her face was the picture of uncertainty. 'I can't do this in front of all these people, Charlie.' She looked at her feet, shaking her head. 'I just can't.'

'Bella, look at me.' He tilted her chin up with his finger, smiling softly at her. 'Just pretend it's you and me. Like the first time. Just pretend that we're going out there and singing to each other. The auditorium's empty. There's just you and me, and Liv too, playing her piano. You just look at me, and I'll look at you, and it'll be great.'

His cerulean eyes were focused entirely on her, and somehow, despite the stage fright, the nightmare of singing in front of all these people, Anabela felt calm. Biting her lip, she nodded. 'Okay.'


	20. From Me To You

Italics Anabela

**A/N**: Ah! Wah! Bah! This is the second last chapter of _From Me To You_. The next, and last, installment will be an epilogue. Thank you all so much for your wonderful feedback (and a special shout-out to _Jewel2502_: her lovely reviews almost made me cry!) – I hope that this ties everything together the way you wanted it to!

Have you guessed what song will be sung at the Talent Show yet? The _italics_ are parts sung by Anabela, underlined is Charlie, _italicized underline_ is the two singing together, and **bold** is all other parts of the song.

Review review review!

Now on to…

**Chapter Twenty**

_From Me To You_

She couldn't stop shaking. Her fingers were fluttering as she worked on her makeup; she could hardly draw her eyeliner on straight.

What had she been thinking, agreeing to perform on stage? Not only did she have stage fright, she couldn't sing. She knew she couldn't sing. How dare Liv pretend that she could?

She carefully applied her lipstick, careful not to smudge the edges. She pouted at her reflection in the mirror. How could she have been so easily persuaded into thinking she'd be able to do this?

She couldn't. It was impossible.

She capped the lipstick, placing it on the table carefully. She once again looking into the mirror; the pale face reflected was scared and wide-eyed.

She felt like throwing up.

'Bella?' Charlie had ducked his head around the door.

She turned around, smiling weakly at him. His mouth dropped open as he came further into the room, holding a hand out so she could stand up. She giggled in spite of herself as he made her twirl, the short black dress fanning out around her. She stopped in front of him, blushing a little under his intense gaze.

'You're beautiful.'

She blushed even harder. 'You think so?'

He chuckled, brushing a rogue curl back up into her messy bun. 'I _know_ so.'

She looked at his dark jeans and black tee. 'You don't look too bad either, Wildcat.' She smiled up at him. 'Who knew you scrubbed up so nice?'

He grinned. 'It is one of the little known facts about me.'

She giggled. 'Well, I'm glad I got you before it became public.'

He pulled her into a hug, resting his chin on her head. 'How're you holding up?'

She shrugged, closing her eyes and snuggling deeper into his warmth. 'Well, before I was feeling nauseous, but now it's all…'

He pushed her away, concerned. 'What? Bella…'

She shook her head, willing to say anything just so she could be pulled back into those strong arms. 'I'm okay, Charlie, I really am.'

He shook his head firmly. 'You know I don't believe a word of that. You've got the worst stage fright of anyone I know. My guess is you're actually feeling like you might throw up any second.'

She bit her lip, looking at the ground. 'I think I can hold it in.'

Charlie shook his head, smiling. 'Yeah, that's exactly what I wanted to hear.' He tilted her chin up, looking straight into her eyes. 'You're going to do fine. We're going to do fine. Trust me.'

He moved forward, and Anabela caught her breath. Was this it? After so many countless interruptions, would they finally kiss?

His lips were grazing hers when the door banged open. The couple span around, only to see Liv and Jake, looking pleased with themselves.

'Good, you guys are in here.' Liv was beaming; her hand firmly held in Jake's larger palm. 'We wanted to let you know everything's ready. They're about to start.'

Anabela nodded, feeling a rush of adrenaline as she contemplated yet again what she was undertaking. Charlie grabbed her hand, holding it tight.

'D'you know what number we are?'

Jake grinned. 'Last, dude.'

'It's going to be the best finale the Talent Show's ever had.' Liv's eyes narrowed slightly as she saw Anabela's face drop. 'Or not. You okay, Anabela?'

'Last?' the brunette managed to squeak. 'I have to wait through twenty other performances until I can die a horrible, embarrassing death?'

'Twenty-one, actually,' Jake added unhelpfully, receiving angry glares from both Charlie and Liv.

'You're going to be fine, Bella.' Charlie kissed the top of her head. 'Just trust me on this one.'

_fmty_

'Ryan!' Gabriella launched herself at the blonde man, hugging him tightly. 'Oh, I missed you so much!'

Ryan grinned, bringing his arms around her. 'Me too. Have you been okay?'

'Mmm-hmm.' She remained attached to him, embracing him tighter.

'I'm excited to see you too, sweetie, but remember, Ryan needs to breathe.'

Gabriella let go immediately, blushing. 'Sorry, Ry. It's just…' She grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly. 'You're right here.'

He leaned over, kissing the top of her head. 'I wouldn't have missed this for the world. Has she told you what they're singing yet?'

Gabriella shook her head. 'She said she wanted it to be a surprise. No matter what I did, she didn't break.'

'Did you try taking away the chocolate?'

Gabriella just laughed at him, and Ryan's eyes drifted away from her face, locking on someone just over her shoulder. 'There's a face I recognise.'

The brunette turned, beaming as Troy walked up to the two of them.

'Hey, Ryan.' The taller of the two men stuck out his hand, smiling a little uncertainly. Troy hadn't exactly been best buddies with the ambitious blond during highschool, and a small part of the athlete had always felt a little bitter that Ryan had been the only Wildcat Gabriella had kept in contact with after they'd broken up.

'Troy.' Ryan took the proffered hand, shaking it firmly. Troy was unable to read his expression; a little nervous, his eyes slid over to Gabriella.

'Ryan, don't be so mean.' She shoved the blond aside, smiling at Troy. 'Don't worry about him, Troy…'

'Good God, woman, I was trying to be funny.' Ryan turned to Troy, smiling widely. 'It's really good to see you again, Troy. Especially with Gabriella.' He glanced down meaningfully at the couple's entwined hands. 'I'm really glad you found each other again.'

Gabriella felt her eyes well up with unshed tears, and she was about to say something, anything, just so she could let the two men standing with her know that they meant the world to her, that without them she wouldn't feel whole, but she was cut off by the sound of the school bell ringing.

'The show's about to start,' Ryan noted, beginning to move to the doors.

Troy looked confused. 'How do you know that?'

The blond laughed. 'Darbus hasn't changed at all these twenty years. The bell always sounded the beginning of the show. So come on. Otherwise all the good seats will be gone.'

'Nuh-uh.' Gabriella grinned, leading the two down the auditorium's aisle. 'We got some reserved.'

'Oh my God! Ryan Evans?!' Taylor was shrieking and Chad's hair was shorter than it had been in highschool and Zeke still smelt like cinnamon and, right beside the old Wildcats, as Gabriella had promised, there were three empty seats.

_fmty_

'Anabela. Calm down. You're going to do fine.'

She shook her head, her breathing short and harsh. 'No, I'm not. I don't think I can do this.'

Charlie appeared in the wings suddenly, and Liv beamed.

'I have never been so glad to see you!' she exclaimed, pulling at his hand. 'Anabela's gone insane.'

Charlie looked concerned. 'What? What's the matter, Bella?'

Anabela turned to him, her eyes wide. 'The entire student body is out there right now, Charlie. Plus family and friends and God knows who else. I am going to make a fool of myself in front of all those people and they're going to laugh at me and I am just going to die.'

Charlie glanced at Liv, who was looking a little scared at Anabela's rambling. 'You let her look out of the curtains?'

Liv shrugged. 'I thought you had calmed her down!'

Charlie rolled her eyes, placing his hands on the brunette's small shoulders. 'Bella, listen to me.' She folded her arms and pouted, and as hard as it was for the Bolton boy to not lift her into his arms and kiss her right there, he knew she wouldn't appreciate it. 'We've been through this before. You're amazing. You have such a great voice. They're not going to make fun of you; they're going to worship you. You'll be a legend.'

She uncrossed her arms; her face was the picture of uncertainty. 'I can't do this in front of all these people, Charlie.' She looked at her feet, shaking her head. 'I just can't.'

'Bella, look at me.' He tilted her chin up with his finger, smiling softly at her. 'Just pretend it's you and me. Like the first time. Just pretend that we're going out there and singing to each other. The auditorium's empty. There's just you and me, and Liv too, playing her piano. You just look at me, and I'll look at you, and it'll be great.'

His cerulean eyes were focused entirely on her, and somehow, despite the stage fright, the nightmare of singing in front of all these people, Anabela felt calm. Biting her lip, she nodded. 'Okay.'

He pulled her close; kissed her forehead. 'Let's do this.'

'Everyone's in their places. Quick, get on now.' Harriet nodded at them, and Liv scuttled across the stage to the piano, smiling encouragingly at the two of them as they took their place on the stage.

The curtain swept open, and Anabela felt her heart stop. So many people, all watching her. Her mother was in that crowd somewhere, and Ryan.

_Good God, she could not do this_.

Her hands were shaking so hard she was worried she might drop her microphone.

She heard Liv start the opening chords. Taking a deep breath, her eyes focused on her shoes, Anabela started to sing, her voice quiet.

_Na na na na_

_Na na na na yeah_

_You are the music in me_

'Oh my God,' Gabriella breathed. She looked over at Troy, her eyes wide. It's…'

'Our song.' He was grinning; his eyes focused on hers.

'Did you know?'

Troy shook his head. 'Chaz didn't say a word.'

On stage, Anabela looked up from her shoes over at Charlie, her heart thumping wildly. He was smiling at her widely, tapping his foot to the beat. Her voice became stronger.

_You know the words_

'_Once upon a time'_

_Make you listen?_

_There's a reason._

_When you dream there's a chance you'll find_

_A little laughter_

_Or a happy ever after_

Charlie walked towards her, joining in with the song.

_Your harmony to the melody_

_It's echoing inside my head_

Anabela's eyes did not leave the tall boy's, as he walked behind her, brushing her shoulder with his gently. Anabela felt a jolt of electricity, and the audience dropped away. There was no one but her and Charlie on the stage, singing together.

_A single voice_ (single voice)

_Above the noise_

_And like a common thread_

Knowing it would make her giggle, Charlie backed away from her, winking.

Hmm, you're pulling me

The band kicked in; beside him Chad was wolf whistling, and Troy couldn't tear his eyes away from the stage, where Gabriella's daughter, his lovely brunette in miniature, was swaying across the stage, oblivious to the cheers from the audience.

_When I hear my favorite song_

_I know that we belong_

Oh, you are the music in me

Yeah it's living in all of us

_And it's brought us here because_

_Because you are the music in me_

'They're certainly giving you two a run for your money,' Ryan noted wryly, watching as Anabela skipped across the stage, her eyes never leaving Charlie's.

Gabriella laughed in spite of herself, her throat tight. Troy pressed a kiss to her hair, reaching for her hand.

_Na na na na_ (ohh)

_Na na na na na _(yeah yeah yeah)

_Na na na na_

_You are the music in me_

Anabela turned around as she made her way to the edge of the stage, smiling cheekily as she watched Charlie follow her.

_It's like I knew you before we met_ (before we met)

_Can't explain it_ (ooh ooh)

_There's no name for it_ (no name for it)

_I'm saying words I never said_

She bit her lip to stop herself from giggling as Charlie, behind her, went into his pop idol moment.

And it was easy (_so easy_)

Because you see the real me (_I see_)

The audience was clapping in time to the beat as Anabela and Charlie, still watching each other with huge smiles on their faces, made their way back to the centre of the stage. Gabriella turned her head to Ryan, biting her lip, unable to contain the multitude of feelings raging through her. He just smiled at her, resting his palm on her knee, understanding it all.

_As I am, you understand_

_And that's more than I've ever known_

_To hear your voice_ (hear your voice)

_Above the noise_

_And no, I'm not alone_

_Oh you're singing to me_

Gabriella couldn't help it. The tears started to fall, and Troy gripped her tighter. The teenagers on stage were becoming blurred with the two teenagers who had danced around a music studio in Lava Springs twenty years ago. She could still remember feeling invincible as she sang with Troy; they'd had the entire summer before them and it felt like nothing could tear them apart.

She'd lost him that summer, but he made his way back. Later on, he would lose her, and she'd have to make her way back, thinking she was twenty years too late. But he was here, holding her and grounding her, and they were watching their children together, singing _their_ song with as much passion as to make it their own.

_When I hear my favorite song_

_I know that we belong _

_You are the music in me_

_It's living in all of us_

_And it's brought us here because_

_You are the music in me_

Charlie nodded at Anabela, and, in unison, they turned to face the audience, letting loose.

_Together we're gonna sing_(yeah)

_We got the power to sing what we feel_(_what we feel_)

Connected and real

_Can't keep it all inside _

From the wings, a group of six students, dressed entirely in black, moved onstage, led by Jake. They crowded around Liv's piano, joining in to sing with Anabela and Charlie.

**Na na na na **

_Ohh yeah_

**Na na na na na** (_Ohh_ _yeah_)

Yeah yeah yeah (**Na na na na**)

_You are the music in me_ (In me)

Anabela was struggling not to laugh; she'd been hesitant to agree with Liv's suggestion to have their friends join in the song towards the end, and Charlie had expressed similar thoughts. ('But Liv, my friends are _basketball players_.' To which Liv had replied, dryly, 'So are you. What's the problem?') But they sounded so much better than she ever would've dreamed.

**Na na na na** (_Ohh yeah_)

**Na na na na na** (_Ohh yeah)_

**Na na na na**

_You are the music in me_

Troy grinned; a generation later, East High's students had again risen up to defy the status quo that had divided the red and white halls for so long. The golden boy of the school had again paired up with the clever newcomer; Troy couldn't help but laugh at how history had repeated itself.

**When I hear my favorite song** (Favorite song)

**I know that we belong** (_We belong_)

**You are the music in me**

Gabriella could hear the old Wildcats singing along; Taylor and Chad were smiling at each other, Zeke murmuring the words into his wife's ear, Ryan bouncing his knee in time to the beat. And Troy, beside her, was laughing and holding her hand tight.

**Yeah it's living in all of us**

**It's brought us here because** (_Here because_)

**You are the music in me**

Anabela's heart was pounding, but she had long forgotten her stage fright. This anticipation was from something else entirely, and it had to do with the boy standing only a few feet away. He had turned his face away from their laughing friends at Liv's piano, and he was looking at her with an expression that made her feel like she was falling.

**Na na na na** (Ohh)

**Na na na na** (_Ohh yeah_)

Everything else had faded away. The audience, clapping to the music, had melted into the black seats of the auditorium. The band had ceased to play. Their friends, family, teachers…all had disappeared. It was only the two of them, standing on an empty stage. Charlie smiled, his blue eyes twinkling in the bright stage lights, and she felt her own mouth curving upwards.

**Na na na na**

The audience was on their feet, already beginning to clap, but Anabela couldn't hear. She could hardly even breathe. Charlie was moving impossibly closer, grinning and holding out his hand. She looked at it, a little uncertain, then glanced back into his face. His eyes were so warm, his eyes so blue, and she felt safe. Despite being on stage, despite having to sing in front of all these people, with Charlie by her side she felt like she was home. After feeling torn between her past in Boston and her shaky present in Albuquerque, Anabela finally felt like she could face her future, with this beautiful boy beside her.

Unable to contain her smile, Anabela slipped her hand into Charlie's much larger palm, resisting the urge to wink at him.

_You are the music in me_

Whistles and cheers and catcalls filled the auditorium, but the two teenagers were still caught in their own spell, being pulled closer and closer together.

Yeah

Anabela's breath caught in her throat as Charlie, mere inches away, bent his head and slowly, gently, pressed his lips to hers.

The auditorium erupted, but the laughter and cheers were falling on deaf ears. Their kiss grew deeper; unconsciously Anabela pressed herself flush against the tall boy, struggling to breathe. Not that she minded. She wished she could spend forever like this, dancing the dangerous edge between pleasure and pain.

Charlie pulled away, breathless and a little dazed, gazing into Anabela's eyes. She was flushed, her lips a little red, but her smile was euphoric. He placed a small kiss to the tip of her nose, and she giggled, her breath floating along his chin.

A loud wolf-whistle made the two realise where they were, what they were doing, and they turned sharply, gazing out at the large audience, all on their feet. Anabela tightened her grip on Charlie's hand, blushing a bright red.

'Oh my God.'

He chuckled. 'What did I tell you? I knew you'd become a legend.'

She caught his eye. 'Hey, it isn't just me out here, Arnold.'

He laughed loudly, the sound drowned out by the squeals of their friends, swarming beside the couple to take a bow. As the curtain swished shut, the audience was still on their feet.

**NB**: For the epilogue, I'm leaving it up to you to let me know what you want! I do realize that the idea of Troy and Gabriella being together makes it slightly awkward for their kids (I insist that it's not incest, but still, it's a little weird). So, for the end of this story, would you like to see Charlie and Anabela stay together? Or do you think it would be better for them to remain as friends? Vote for your preference by reviewing and letting me know! This story's finale could be influenced by _you_!


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